It has been an explosive start to the season for Aston Villa. They have looked very much like the side that secured fourth in the Premier League last term, and have only lost one game, a hard-fought battle at home to Arsenal which they ultimately lost 2-0.
Unai Emery’s side have also shown they can handle the demands of Champions League football so far. After thrashing Swiss side Young Boys 3-0 on Tuesday, they beat Wolves 3-1 in the Premier League the following Saturday.
There have been some standout performers for the Villans so far, with the likes of Amadou Onana and Ollie Watkins finding their best form in front of goal. However, there has arguably been one standout player this season, striker Jhon Duran.
Duran’s 2023/24 campaign so far
The Villans have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal at centre-forward, Not only do they have Watkins, who has three goals and two assists in six games in all competitions this season, but Duran is one of the deadliest strikers in the Premier League.
This term, the 20-year-old has four goals in five Premier League appearances and was close to a first Champions League goal, but his strike was ruled out for a handball in the buildup.
What is most remarkable about the former Chicago Fire striker is the fact he has played just 131 Premier League minutes. That means the striker averages a goal every 32.75 minutes this term, according to Statmuse. He has now scored nine Premier League goals in 719 minutes.
|
Duran’s Premier League career |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Mins |
Goals |
Mins per goal |
|
2022/23 |
126 |
0 |
0 |
|
2023/24 |
462 |
5 |
92.4 |
|
2024/25 |
131 |
4 |
32.75 |
|
Total |
719 |
9 |
79.89 |
|
Stats from Statmuse |
|||
This season in the English top flight, as per FBref, Duran averages the second-highest number of goals per game, with 2.67, and the third-highest expected goals per match with 1.4xG. He is also one of three players to have scored four Premier League goals this term, which ranks him third in the Golden Boot race.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
The Colombian, who surprisingly has just one international goal, has been known to score some superb strikes, with his ball-striking ability a real standout feature of his game. That includes this sublime effort against Everton two weeks ago.
There is no doubt that Villa have a superb talent on their hands. The striker is in the form of his life and does not need to spend long on the pitch to make an impact.
Aston Villa’s next best young striker
It seems certain that Duran will start against Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, and could be joined by another exciting young Villa striker, Rory Wilson.
The Villans signed Scotland youth international Wilson from Scottish giants Rangers back in July 2022, when Steven Gerrard was still at the helm at Villa Park. He joined with great expectation and was even dubbed “one of the best young strikers in Europe” by Scotland U17 head coach Brian McLaughlin.
He has certainly lived up to those expectations in youth football. The youngster has played 25 games for Villa’s U18s, scoring a whopping 27 goals. That included 16 strikes in just 13 games in last season’s U18 Premier League.
The youngster has started this season impressively, too. The 18-year-old has scored two goals in four games, which included his first UEFA Youth League goal, against Young Boys, a game that finished 2-1 to the Swiss outfit.
The goal, shown below, was a superb showcase of what the Scottish youth product can do. Wilson wins the ball back well for his side, before using quick feet to burst past defenders and slide the ball past the goalkeeper.
He is certainly a talent who Villa might look to bed into the first team in the near future. The 18-year-old seems to have lots of potential and is highly rated by coaches. Perhaps he could make his first real impact in the famous claret shirt against Wycombe on Tuesday night, and lead the line alongside Duran.
