Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran targeted by Saudi Arabia but clubs warned of £80m price tag

Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr are preparing an official offer for Aston Villa striker Jhon Durán after bids for the Colombia international from West Ham United were turned down earlier this week.

Durán, 21, has been identified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s club to bolster their front line this month but they are aware a deal worth around £80 million would be needed for there to be any chance of tempting Villa to the table.

With Ronaldo and Sadio Mané in their forward line, Al-Nassr have been looking at central strikers to support their attacking players for the second half of the season as they try to get closer to Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad and better their second-placed finish from the last campaign.

Al-Nassr have filled all the foreign spots in Stefano Pioli’s squad, although Durán could also replace one of their under-21 players.

Villa’s stance

Unai Emery has been juggling his squad to cope with the added workload of the Champions League so he does not want Durán to leave and the club have no plans to sell.

Earlier this week they rejected a bid from West Ham worth up to £57 million including add-ons – a club record for them – with sources saying the offer was turned down almost immediately.

Durán has recently signed a new contract, committing to Villa Park until 2030, which places extra value on his transfer-market price. There is also interest in the striker from Paris St-Germain.

Duran’s situation

The Colombia striker is one of the most exciting attackers in the Premier League, although Emery has admitted it is a “challenge” to play him and England international Ollie Watkins in the same team.

“We have to work on it tactically because to play with two strikers, they have to try to help the team as well in our structure offensively and defensively,” he has said.

“I tried it before and sometimes it was successful. I think we are going to watch those players together, maybe within a match, and as well I think I can find a solution for them to play in the starting XI together. But they have to try to understand their roles.

“Hopefully, we can get from them their best performances from here until the end of the season.”

Durán has only started four Premier League matches this season and has been used as a substitute 15 times. His goalscoring record is healthy, with 12 goals in all competitions, raising the question over whether he should be playing regular football.

Saudi market

While Al-Ahli bought Brentford’s Ivan Toney in the summer and agreed a contract that could be worth the equivalent of £1 million per week, this has been a quiet time in the Saudi market compared to the splurge of signings they made after Ronaldo joined the competition.

Al-Hilal were interested in Darwin Núñez in this window and were willing to pay wages of around £29 million per year for the Liverpool striker. But so far the biggest deal of the window has been Brazilian winger Kaio César moving from Vitória Guimarães to Al-Hilal for around £7.6 million.

Marcus Rashford has rejected three offers from Saudi Pro League clubs in deals worth up to £35 million per season. As Telegraph Sport revealed, Manchester United are willing to let the 27-year-old leave during the January transfer window. But Rashford is understood only to be willing to depart for a competitive club and league as he looks to fight his way back into the England squad under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

The three rejected approaches from clubs in Saudi Arabia would have increased his current salary of more than £300,000 a week.