Emery sold £18.5m Aston Villa “finisher” who is now outperforming Duran

Aston Villa sold a player last summer who is now outperforming Jhon Duran

Aston Villa has seen some minor upheaval lately; they have only triumphed in one of their last six games and were eliminated by Chelsea from the FA Cup.

 

As a result, Unai Emery’s team has just one realistic chance to win a trophy this

season—the Europa Conference League—but he will need them to get better in the upcoming weeks.

The Spaniard undoubtedly has a strong starting lineup to choose from when

everyone is healthy, but his team lacks the necessary depth, therefore this will

need to be fixed during the summer transfer window.

With Morgan Rogers as his lone other center-forward, Emery may be regretting his decision to sell one of the team’s most potential offensive prospects last summer.

Aston Villa sold Cameron Archer too hastily

Cameron Archer began his career working his way through the Villa youth

teams before making his debut during the 2019/20 season under Dean Smith.

In just the first two EFL Cup games of the 2021–2022 season, he scored four goals, giving the Midlands team hope that they had discovered a fantastic prospect.

He made six Premier League appearances in 2022–2023 after Steven

Gerrard sent him on loan to Preston North End, where he scored seven goals

in 20 games. However, Emery sent him to the Championship when another loan

term arrived, this time staking a claim to be a part of Villa’s future plans.

In the regular second-tier season, Archer played in just 20 games and finished second in the team with 11 goals and 6 assists. He also ranked second for shots on goal per game (0.9), third for key passes per game (1.3), and first for successful dribbles per game (1.1). These are impressive stats for a player who only started for the team in January.

It appeared as though Archer would finally establish himself as an important member of the first team squad after shining for Boro and Villa, who obviously needed some reliable backup for Watkins ahead of the current campaign. That is, until Sheffield United made an intrusion.

After the Blades’ £18.5 million offer was accepted, the young player joined the team. Considering that he had only played 14 games for the Villa Park team, it was obvious that the transfer fee was too excellent to refuse.

With Duran now out injured, however, and Archer actually outscoring him, was selling the 5 foot 11 talent last summer a move that Emery might come to regret?

Jhon Duran’s season in numbers

The young Colombian was looking to kick ahead of his first full season in the

Midlands, having joined last January from the MLS.

Given his youth and experience, particularly at Premier League level, it was maybe not surprising that he had no goals in his first 12 games, but there was no denying his immense skill, and the more he played under Emery, the better he would undoubtedly become.

The only issue is that he had to remove Watkins from the starting lineup, which was a difficult assignment. Duran had only scored twice in the top flight from 14 games (zero starts) and twice in the Conference League prior to suffering his hamstring injury against Everton. These were hardly enough stats to guarantee him a starting spot.

The only issue is that he had to remove Watkins from the starting lineup, which was a difficult assignment. Duran had

only scored twice in the top flight from 14 games (zero starts) and twice in the

Conference League prior to suffering his hamstring injury against Everton. These

were hardly enough stats to guarantee him a starting spot.

Duran is currently ranked 11th on the team for shots on target per game (0.3), 19th for successful dribbles per game

(0.1), and 17th for critical passes per game (0.1), indicating how little of an

impact he can have when given the opportunity.

The Colombian frontman looked as though he may have been close to departing Villa last month, as Chelsea were showing a keen interest in securing his services, but the injury put a halt to any transfer occurring.

 

Might Emery have been better off keeping Archer at the club last year, especially as it looks as though he is enjoying life in Sheffield?

Cameron Archer is outperforming Jhon Duran

Prior to leaving Villa, Under 23 scout Antonio Mango lauded Archer by saying he was “undoubtedly the best finisher in this squad” when he was on duty with the England U21 squad and while he may have scored just four league goals for the Blades this term, it is still two more than Duran.

In the Premier League, Archer has also registered more shots per game (1.3 vs 0.9), big chances created (five vs zero), key passes per game (0.8 vs 0.1), successful dribbles per game (1.2 vs 0.1) and has won more total duels per game (2.9 vs 1.1), and these statistics clearly show who has enjoyed a more productive spell in the Premier League so far this term.

Although Duran hasn’t started a game yet, the young player hasn’t performed well when given the opportunity to play for the squad.

On the surface, selling Archer for £18.5 million could seem like a wise move, especially considering that money had to be raised to meet Financial Fair Play requirements and balance the books. However, it might have been preferable to give him a season at Villa to prove his value.

Sheffield United could soon be relegated, but Archer has adapted well to regular first-team football in the top flight and this could stand him in good stead for the future.

Duran’s future at Villa is still unclear, especially as Emery signed Rogers last month to take the pressure off Watkins with regard to goals.

If he can return from injury and score a few goals towards the end of the season, then his future at Aston Villa may look a lot brighter than it does right now.

If not, Duran might be on the move once more, and Emery might regret trading Archer in the summer.