Aston Villa are reportedly keen on holding onto Jhon Duran until the end of the season amid interest from West Ham United.
A report from the Guardian claims that the West Midlands club have now rejected an offer from West Ham to sign the 20-year-old Colombian striker.
West Ham are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements and they have identified Duran as a potential target. The Hammers want to sign the player on loan with the option to buy. The report states that the player is a target for Chelsea as well.
The 20-year-old striker has not had regular game time at Aston Villa and it remains to be seen whether he wants to force an exit from the club. He is currently behind Ollie Watkins in the pecking order and he is unlikely to start ahead of the 27-year-old any time soon.
The report from Guardian claims that Aston Villa will not sanction his departure unless they sign quality replacement.
West Ham need to bring in a reliable goal scorer, especially with Michail Antonio past his speak and Danny Ings suffering from persistent injury problems since joining the club. Duran could prove to be a quality long-term addition for the Hammers.
It will be interesting to see if Chelsea decide to make a move for him as well. They need to bring in an alternative to Nicolas Jackson who has not been able to score goals consistently. The 20-year-old striker could be tempted to join clubs like West Ham and Chelsea, especially if they can offer him gametime assurances.
It will be interesting to see how the situation develops over the next few days.