Why Jhon Duran transfer truth is complicated as Unai Emery's European plan explained
Aston Villa were unable to hold onto what would have been their third successive home win in all competitions on Sunday night as West Ham held Unai Emery's side to a 1-1 draw.
Villa started on the front foot and went ahead through Jacob Ramsey, who scored his first league goal of the campaign. Villa pushed for a second and thought they had it when Morgan Rogers tapped in from close range, but the flag went up for an offside.
Tyrone Mings suffered a knee injury in the first half and was forced off, leaving Villa with only one fit recognised centre-back in Ezri Konsa. West Ham left-back Emerson headed in on the 70th minute to level the game up and Villa were unable to respond with a winner.
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Here are the talking points from Villa's draw with West Ham...
Mings injury changed the game
The game changed when Mings came off. No doubt about it. Villa were in the ascendancy in the first 15 minutes of the game and while West Ham grew into it, Villa were still more likely to double their lead than ship an equaliser.
Emery opted to change two positions when Mings had to come off as Maatsen came on at left-back, meaning Lucas Digne shuffled across to centre-back in a pairing alongside Ezri Konsa.
Digne has played at centre-back before and did as well as he could have, but Mings' presence at the back was sorely missed. Maybe if Villa even had Diego Carlos in the team still, Mings' absence wouldn't have been so hard felt.
The change of two positions, plus the loss of Mings' ability to defend aggressively and organise the backline, was what changed the complexion of the game. From it, West Ham grew in confidence and belief. Villa, in contrast, became frantic in their play and less controlled.
Emery could have brought on Lamare Bogarde to directly replace Mings, but he wanted a left-footed player to keep the balance when building from the back.
"With the left centre-back it's very important with Pau Torres," Emery explained to Sky Sports. "He can play with his left foot. Today we have another centre-back. I needed one left-footed player. We were winning 1-0 and started very well. To keep the result in 90 minutes without one more goal is always difficult. They created one or two chances. I think the result is fair.
"Pau is injured, we are trying to get another centre-back after Diego Carlos left. We are in the process as well. We started the second part of the season with two wins and two draws, we have not lost. We wanted to win today. We have to continue building and trying to learn."
Emery: We are ambitious and want more
Despite failing to beat West Ham, Villa's strong home record has been extended as they are now 11 unbeaten in the league at Villa Park. They also gained a point on Chelsea and Nottingham Forest who both lost over the weekend.
So long as Villa are in and around the top five come April, then they will have a shout at returning to the Champions League via their league finish. That is Emery's goal - keep clear of ninth to stay in European competition next season, but be within a shout of a higher league finish once the final 10 games of the campaign come around.
"We started the second part of the season with two wins and two draws," he said after full-time. "We are very ambitious and we want more. We have to keep going and focus on Wednesday, recover some players, and try to use the last week in the transfer window. We have to get our performances quality. We want to play in Europe."
Villa have a decent chance of automatically qualifying for the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night when they host Celtic and hope for a result or two going their way. It's even more important that they avoid two Champions League games in a play-off as their record after European fixtures has been really poor this term.
Emery's side are winless in their past six league games following Champions League fixtures, with two home draws followed by three away defeats before they were held by the Hammers on Saturday.
Duran talk won't go away
The Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran debate doesn't stop, won't stop ... and that's the issue here. Jamie Carragher laid it out perfectly before kick-off.
"I don't think you're getting the best out of Ollie Watkins when he knows he'll be coming off for Jhon Duran with 20 minutes left in the game - but he has to bring Duran on for 20 minutes, because he's going to be unhappy," the pundit said on Sky Sports. "Sometimes you can have players who are so good but are in the same position.
"One player needs to know he's the man, that player is Ollie Watkins. I think you can get good money for Jhon Duran. It's not like Watkins is finished, he's still got another three or four years at this level. I know Villa fans might say he's a great young striker, but I just don't think the dynamic is going to work."
Competition is vital in a team across every department, but as Carragher explained, Duran is too good not to start and the same goes for Watkins. The Colombia international replaced Watkins just after the hour mark, but Villa appeared to lose some of their balance at the top of the pitch as a result.
After assisting Ramsey's opener, Watkins reached 100 goal involvements in the fewest Premier League games (169) by any player since Kevin De Bruyne achieved the milestone in 155 matches in July 2020. He bagged 19 times last season and has also hit double figures with 15 league matches left to play.
Duran, meanwhile, has started only seven games in all competitions and has scored 12 times in all competitions. He won a number of points for Villa at the start of the campaign and bagged the memorable winner against Bayern Munich.
Though, with deficiencies elsewhere in the squad, would it be wise for Villa to put a chunk of money from a sale towards improving elsewhere on the pitch? Before this season, Villa made an incredible rise under Emery with Watkins as the only senior striker. Duran has certainly played his part this term, but there are more pressing issues in the team rather than questioning how many goals Villa may not have scored if Duran wasn't there to come in for Watkins when he wasn't fit.
With only a week remaining of the window, selling Duran would only make sense if there is a player who Emery believes would add more to his forward line, be it Joao Felix or Matheus Cunha and so on. We know that a different profile of forward - who can lead the line or link play behind a number nine - is what he has targeted previously.
In no way is this a call to flog Duran, but the situation is far more complex than what it first seems. A summer move for the Colombia international could be on the cards given the financial restraints Villa face with Profit and Sustainability Rules, plus the intense interest surrounding the forward.
For the benefit of the wider squad, which needs refreshing in areas, funding new arrivals without actually impacting the first XI could be wise business.
Perhaps this is a conversation for the summer rather in the last week of the January window as Emery has already confirmed that he wants the striker to stay. "Some circumstances, of course, they are not helping us to focus 100 per cent," Emery admitted on Sky Sports. "Jhon Duran is our player and I want him here."
Money talks and let's see how Villa react if a huge bid is tabled in the final week of the window. If Emery, Monchi and Damian VIdagany believe that they can make the first XI better as a result of selling Duran, it may well suit all parties to bite the bullet.
