Aston Villa maintained their position in the Champions League places in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at Villa Park on Saturday.
The Villans are fourth in the division, after nine matches, despite a late goal from Evanilson in stoppage time preventing them from picking up all three points against the Cherries.
Ross Barkley had given the hosts the lead with 14 minutes to go but the Brazilian produced a fine header in the 96th minute to beat Emi Martinez.
Unai Emery’s side are now 11 matches unbeaten in all competitions and, whilst the Spaniard will surely be pleased with that, he may still be disappointed that his team did not claim all three points on Saturday.
They could have secured the victory if super substitute Jhon Duran had pulled off his usual heroics, as the Colombia international missed a ‘big chance’ after coming off the bench.
Ollie Watkins cut the ball back for the striker and he caught the ball brilliantly but the curling effort fizzed past the outside of the post, rather than settling into the bottom corner.
Aston Villa could find an even bigger talent than Duran, though, when the January transfer window opens for business, amid reported interest in a Serie A starlet.
Aston Villa's interest in Serie A sensation
According to JuveLive, Aston Villa are interested in Juventus starlet Kenan Yildiz and are eyeing him up ahead of the next transfer window at the turn of the year.
The report claims that Juventus are preparing for January and that they could need to replace one of their players, as the Turkey international has garnered interest from across Europe in recent months.
It states that the most interested club in the young forward is the Villans, as sporting director Monchi would be ‘delighted’ to bring the forward to England ahead of the second half of the season.
JuveLive claims that Monchi is desperate to secure a deal for Yildiz and that he would be willing to do ‘crazy’ things to strike an agreement with the Italian giants, as it also reveals that Villa would have the money to do business with them if they get through to the next round of the Champions League.
The outlet reveals that the Old Lady would demand a fee of up to €70m (£58m) for the 19-year-old sensation, and adds that Villa would be willing to offer that amount of money ahead of any other interested club.
However, JuveLive reports that a deal is unlikely to be sanctioned by Juventus in the January transfer window and that it is more likely that a transfer would go ahead in the summer.
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Whilst it is not completely ruled out that Villa could swoop for Yildiz ahead of the upcoming window, they may have to wait until the end of the season to make their move.
If Monchi does get his wish and does ‘crazy’ things to bring the Turkish whiz to Villa Park, Emery could have an even bigger talent than Duran on his hands.
Jhon Duran's form for Aston Villa
The 20-year-old forward, who turns 21 in December, is an emerging star at Villa Park and looks to have a huge future ahead of him, at the club and in football in general.
Duran, who joined from Chicago Fire at the start of last year, has scored 15 goals in 62 appearances for the club in all competitions to date, including nine goals in 44 Premier League outings.
He has also scored two goals in 13 caps for Colombia at senior international level, which shows that the left-footed ace has proven his goalscoring quality at club and national level at a young age.
Appearances
9
Starts
0
xG
2.37
Goals
4
Assists
0
Big chances created
0
As you can see in the table above, Duran is yet to start a game in the Premier League this season but has still plundered four goals from 2.37 xG.
He has been a terrific super sub as a scorer, albeit his lack of creativity may be one of the reasons why Emery has opted against starting him regularly, and appears to be a fantastic prospect for the future.
Whilst Duran is clearly a big talent, given his return of four goals in the Premier League this season as a 20-year-old striker, Yildiz is an even bigger prospect.
Why Kenan Yildiz is a bigger talent than Jhon Duran
Firstly, the Turkish gem is 19 and does not turn 20 until next May, which means that he is around 18 months younger than the Aston Villa striker.
Despite being considerably younger than Duran, by senior measures, Yildiz has already emerged as a regular starter for Juventus in the Serie A.
The teenage whiz, who is predominantly used as a second striker or a left winger, scored two goals in 27 appearances and nine starts as an 18-year-old in the Serie A last term.
Yildiz has also been capped 16 times by Turkey, which means he has been capped more than Duran at international level, and scored one goal for his country, to go along with four assists.
U23 scout Antonio Mango once hailed his “exceptional” technical qualities and they have been on show in the Italian top-flight for Juventus this season.
Appearances
9
Starts
7
Goals
2
Assists
2
Pass accuracy
87%
As you can see in the table above, the 19-year-old ace has been a regular starter in the Serie A for the Old Lady and contributed with four goal involvements in seven starts.
The versatile forward has also scored one goal in three starts in the Champions League, taking him into double figures for starts, which shows that Thiago Motta trusts him to start on the biggest stage.
Therefore, Monchi could land an even bigger talent than Duran as Yildiz is already starting games regularly and making an impact at the top end of the pitch for a European giant, whilst being younger than the Villa man – who is yet to displace Morgan Rogers or Ollie Watkins.
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