Aston Villa sign £15m Colombian wonderkid as Wolves prepare to welcome PSG star

16 January 2023 , 15:25

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Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery are both looking to strengthen their squads (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Aston Villa are paying £14.75million to sign exciting Colombian teenager Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire.

Duran, 19, has scored eight goals and set up six more in 28 appearances for MLS outfit Chicago. Villa, who are 11th in the Premier League, have moved swiftly to beat off top-flight rivals for Duran who could cost a further £3m in add-ons.

The deal is subject to Duran obtaining a work visa and it is considered a long shot that the ace will be signed and cleared in time to play at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday as he is still in America.

But Villa boss Unai Emery, who has also paid £14m for left-back Alex Moreno, wants the starlet to compete with Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings upfront. Duran has three caps for Colombia as a sub and came on in their win over Paraguay in November.

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui refused to discuss any incoming transfers as he remained cautious over new arrivals. The head coach shut down any talk of signings ahead of Tuesday’s FA Cup replay with Liverpool.

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Paris St Germain head coach Christophe Galtier has confirmed attacking midfielder Pablo Sarabia is poised to move to the Premier League, with Molineux his expected destination. Flamengo midfielder Joao Gomes is also a target, with Wolves having already signed Matheus Cunha on an initial loan from Atletico Madrid.

Aston Villa have signed Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran (Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“We will see, it’s true we have interest in some players but when they are here and our players we can talk about them, not before,” said Lopetegui. “I want to put the focus on our players. We don’t want to waste energy on other things. We will talk only about our players.”

Meanwhile, Diego Costa could return to the squad after missing Saturday's Premier League victory over West Ham while Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Boubacar Traore (groin) and Pedro Neto (ankle) are out.

"Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world," added Lopetegui. "The quality of his (Jurgen Klopp) players, the coach, his history.

Pablo Sarabia is nearing a move to Wolves (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

"I'm sure they're going to come here and look to do a big match. We have to be ready to overcome them. The FA Cup is going to be an important aim for them - us too - we have to fight to overcome one of the best teams in the world.

"It's more or less the same (how Wolves deal with Liverpool following the original draw), maybe they can change something but we only focus on what we want to do. When you play every three days it's not a lot of time to prepare so you have to balance the time to be able to work with the team."

James Nursey