Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran remains an option for Chelsea

Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran remains an option for Chelsea despite being out for ten weeks with a hamstring injury.

Mail Sport reported earlier this January that Unai Emery's side were open to offers for the 20-year-old centre-forward if the club secures a replacement, with Villa having had a third offer of £7.5million for Middlesbrough forward Morgan Rogers turned down.

Villa have also expressed an interest in Norwich City's Jonathan Rowe, with Unai Emery stating that he was hopeful they could could get some deals over the line before Wednesday's deadline.

'The club is working hard so some players can leave, then if we can we can add potentially,' the Spaniard said in a press-conference ahead of Villa's game against Newcastle.

Both West Ham and Chelsea have expressed an interest in signing Duran, with Villa previously rejecting a loan-to-buy offer from David Moyes' side for the centre-forward.

The Colombian joined Villa last January from Chicago Fire in an £18m deal, but since then he has struggled to assert himself as a regular starter in Emery's side.

This season, he has made 23 appearances starting in just seven of those matches, while returning four goals.

While Mauricio Pochettino's side maintain an interest in the forward, his hopes of securing a move away from Villa were dealt a blow last week after Emery revealed, ahead of their goalless FA Cup clash against Chelsea. that Duran had suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him out of action for an extended period.

Fulham, meanwhile, are continuing discussions for Chelsea striker Armando Broja.

Should Marco Silva's side sign the Albanian international, who is valued at around £50m, that could force Pochettino's side's up their endeavours to sign a replacement and acquire Duran.

Fulham's hopes of signing him were given a boost last week as Wolves, who had also been in the race to acquire him, decided to hold off on a £30m attempt to sign the striker.

This season, Broja has made 19 appearances for Chelsea, returning two goals and two assists for the football club. Broja has also returned from an ACL injury this season that saw him miss out on nearly a year of action.

But despite his difficulties in front of goal, Pochettino lauded his striker, claiming that he is still in the early parts of his career and has plenty of potential.

'All the biggest strikers always need time. When they are young, they need to find their own balance. But I still believe that he has the potential to be an amazing striker,' the Argentine said earlier this month.

He added: 'He's a player that suffered a big injury last season, he needs to put that big idea behind him, always that is difficult.

'And we are at Chelsea, he is trying to deliver while compared with the biggest strikers like Drogba, Hasselbaink or another. That's always difficult for a young guy.'