Man Utd fumbled bargain Jhon Duran transfer following £82m Erik ten Hag error

Aston Villa hot-shot Jhon Duran is pushing for a start against Manchester United - two years after Old Trafford chiefs wanted to sign him.  The 20-year-old Colombian, who has six goals in just 290 minutes of action so far this season following his midweek Champions League heroics against Bayern Munich, moved to Villa in January 2023 in a £18million switch from Chicago Fire.  At the time, United were amongst the top contenders for his signature but they were unable to follow up interest as they were hampered by the fear of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations following a £225m summer transfer splurge which included the £82m signing of flop winger Antony and £70m acquisition of Casemiro.  United scout Giuseppe Antonaccio, who is well-connected in both North and South America and had been monitoring Duran since his senior breakthrough in Colombia with Envigado, is believed to have flagged the player's potential to senior club officials.

And following extensive scouting of the fresh-faced striker in 2022, it's understood United lodged an enquiry and were quoted a figure in the region of £10m by Chicago Fire, according to sources close to the MLS club.  However, the picture quickly changed as a host of other clubs including Fulham and European giants Atletico Madrid and Benfica entered the fray as Duran continued to rattle in the goals, driving up his valuation.  By which point, United acknowledged that they were unable to put serious cash on the table, parking their interest before eventually making three loan signings in the form of Jack Butland, Marcel Sabitzer and Wout Weghorst, respectively.  The Red Devils are also believed to have been sceptical about the jump from the MLS to the Premier League and had they pushed ahead with a swoop for Duran, it's highly unlikely he would have been fast-tracked straight into the first-team picture.

Villa felt differently and had total faith that the Colombia international possessed the tools to thrive as Ollie Watkins' understudy, a call that has now paid dividends for Unai Emery. Chelsea were close to landing the prolific attacker as part of a swap deal for Conor Gallagher in June before the European Championships and Copa America but talks between the two clubs collapsed as the England international midfielder did not want to move to the Midlands. West Ham also had several substantial bids rebuffed by Villa Park chiefs for the centre-forward, who netted the winner against the Irons in his side's 2-1 opening-day victory at the London Stadium in August.  Villa's director of football operations Damian Vidagany recently revealed "no fewer than 40 clubs" wanted to sign Duran during the summer transfer window and if they are to consider a future sale, they look set to make mega profit on the player as his electric form has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.