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Fabrizio Romano has revealed that West Ham and Chelsea wanted Jhon Duran but has credited Aston Villa for sticking to their asking price.

The Colombia international scored a famous goal for the Villans in the Champions League, helping to secure a 1-0 win against Bayern Munich on Wednesday 2 October.

It is safe to say that this was a further blow to the Hammers who were interested in the 20-year-old in the most recent window.

Romano revealed via his Daily Briefing on 4 October that the Irons and Chelsea were among the bidders for Duran over the summer.

He said: “The deal collapsed, but Jhon Durán was a really strong candidate for Chelsea. Let me also say credits to Villa, because when West Ham and other clubs wanted to sign the player, the club always said £50 million pounds or nothing.

“They rejected several approaches, several proposals for £42m plus an academy player, £42m plus a sell-on clause… several proposals from other clubs, but Villa decided to keep Durán.”

West Ham miss out on Aston Villa star Jhon Duran

When Duran was throwing up Irons gestures on an Instagram livestream over the summer, nobody could have seen what he would go on to do.

The former Chicago Fire star has gone on to be one of the most deadly strikers in the Premier League and Europe in his opening nine appearances of the season.

All but one of his showings have come off the bench for Unai Emery’s side but that hasn’t stopped him from helping himself to six goals in all competitions.

The most important one came in midweek against Bayern Munich as the 20-year-old lobbed Manuel Neuer to hand Villa a famous win.

Things could have been so much different if a move to the London Stadium had gone through with the Hammers in desperate need of a fit and firing striker.

Aston Villa striker and West Ham transfer target Jhon Duran (credit: Imago)

Niclas Fullkrug is out injured and may not be back until after the international break which is a blow.

Julen Lopetegui now has to select between Danny Ings and Michail Antonio but it is safe to say that Duran would be a better choice than either of them right now.

In other West Ham news, David Sullivan is set to make a multi-million loss.

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