Aston Villa have made an impressive start to the new season, after a superb 2023/24 which saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in over 50 years. Unai Emery’s side are currently fifth in the Premier League on 14 points, just outside of the top four on goal difference.
Their fast start to the new season has also seen them win two from two games in Europe. That includes a victory away to Swiss side BSC Young Boys, and a famous win at home to Bayern Munich. That man who scored the winner against the Bavarian giants has been one of their best players this season, Jhon Duran.
Duran’s 2024/25 season so far
There are few strikers who are as clinical across Europe’s big five leagues this season as 20-year-old Duran. The Columbian has quickly become one of the deadliest strikers on the continent and has scored six goals in ten games already.
To break that down further, the former Chicago Fire striker has found the back of the net four times in seven Premier League games, and once in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
He is currently the joint-fifth top goalscorer in the Premier League, alongside several other players, but has played far fewer minutes. The Columbian has not started a game in the top flight yet this term, playing just 184 minutes which equates to two full 90-minute games. The most minutes he has played in one game this term in the league is just 29.
This has been a real feature of the Columbian’s game since moving to the Premier League for £18m in January 2023. He has developed a reputation for goals off the bench and has become a game-changing substitute for Emery.
As per Statmuse, the Villa number nine has nine goals in 42 Premier League games but has made just three starts.
Stat
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Matches
12
23
7
Starts
0
3
0
Minutes
126
462
184
90s
1.4
5.1
2
Goals
0
5
4
Goals per game
0
0.97
1.95
Duran is not showing any signs of slowing down and will be no doubt targeting double-figure goals this season. If he manages to avoid injuries, he could be a key player for years for the Villans, given he recently signed a new contract until 2030.
Scarily, the Midlands side may well have someone even more dangerous in the academy who could go on to be better than Duran.
Aston Villa’s next centre-forward prospect
The player in question here is Villa’s young Scottish striker Rory Wilson. The 18-year-old made the move to Villa Park from Scottish giants Rangers in July 2022 and has since gone from strength to strength in that famous Claret and Blue shirt.
The youngster, who has played three times for Scotland’s under-21 side, has a superb record for the Villa academy. He has scored 36 goals and has four assists to his name in 53 matches for the under-21s, under-18s and in the UEFA Youth League.
His goal in Europe came in his first, and to date, only appearance for the Villans against Young Boys in a 2-1 defeat. The 18-year-old had an astounding record in the under-18s Premier League last term, with 16 goals in just 13 appearances.
The former Rangers player was once described as “one of the best young strikers in Europe” by Scotland under-17s manager Brian McLaughlin in 2022, just before he moved to Villa. That was a campaign where he scored a whopping 49 goals, joining the Premier League side as a result.
Wilson is a player with lots of composure and finesse in front of goal. Take this superb chip as an example, which he scored at Villa Park. He makes a clever run in behind the opposition defence, getting on the end of the pass and delicately clipping the ball over the goalkeeper.
With an age gap of just two years between Wilson and Duran, it would not be a surprise to see them both in the same side soon enough.
Perhaps the young Scottish striker will become an even bigger star than Duran as he gets opportunities in the first team.
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ByJoe NuttallOct 10, 2024