West Ham hold Jhon Duran interest as striker transfer search steps up

West Ham have interest in Jhon Duran at Aston Villa as they turn their transfer focus towards a new striker.

The Hammers have been active in the market so far this summer and last week completed the £40million signing of Max Kilman, reuniting the Wolves captain with former Molineux boss Julen Lopetegui in east London.

West Ham also signed ex-Sheffield United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham on a two-year contract last month, having already brought in teenage Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras in a deal worth £25.5m.

The club were known to be prioritising new additions at both centre-back and up front, with a new striker now their main objective following the arrival of Kilman.

West Ham are understood to be looking at a number of options and hold an interest in Duran, who has scored eight goals in 45 total appearances across all competitions since joining Aston Villa from Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Chicago Fire in a £23m deal in January 2023.

However, the 20-year-old has never been a first-choice option at Villa Park and last season made just three Premier League starts as star striker Ollie Watkins scored 27 times to help Unai Emery’s side finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1983.

Duran has been subject to plenty of transfer speculation in recent months most notably involving Chelsea, who were first interested in a deal back in January and appeared to have reignited that pursuit last month.

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He was said to be happy at Villa but keen on a potential switch to Stamford Bridge that has so far not materialised.

Duran has 10 senior international caps for Colombia and is currently away at the Copa America tournament in the United States, where Nestor Lorenzo’s side face a semi-final clash with Uruguay in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday night.

He’s made one appearance at the competition so far, coming off the bench as a late substitute in the 3-0 group stage win over Costa Rica that sealed Colombia’s place in the quarter-finals, where they thrashed Panama 5-0 after a draw with Brazil.