West Ham and Everton join the race for Chicago Fire’s Jhon Duran
Chicago Fire forward Jhon Duran, who has been linked previously with Manchester United and Liverpool, has become the subject of interest from more Premier League clubs, namely West Ham United and Everton.
According to The Sun: “West Ham and Everton have jumped into the chase for rising star Jhon Duran. Both clubs have made contact with the powerful Colombian striker about joining in a deal in January.”
Duran, who is just 18, has played 28 times for Chicago – scoring eight goals with six assists. Before moving to the USA, he played for Envigado where he played 46 times, scored nine goals and made six assists.
Whilst Man Utd and Liverpool are bigger clubs, it may be wiser to move to West Ham or Everton to make sure he gets game time.
Should he join West Ham?
West Ham is well known for producing world-class talent. The club is nicknamed the ‘Academy of Football’ and has produced the likes of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole. In more recent times, the east London side has nurtured Declan Rice, currently at the World Cup with England. The chance to join a club that has a track record producing players would be very attractive to Duran.
David Moyes’ side is 16th in the Premier League and still in the Europa Conference League. They have some talented South American players in their ranks including Lucas Paqueta (who is in Qatar with Brazil) and Manuel Lanzini of Argentina. Duran would be in good company at the Hammers.
At West Ham, he would be competing with Michail Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca for a starting place. While neither has been prolific this season, Antonio has hit double figures in each of the club’s last three seasons and Scamacca was bought for around $42m in the summer after a 16-goal season in Serie A – meaning Duran would have his work cut out breaking through into the side.
Or would Everton be a better fit?
Everton is currently in 17th place in the Premier League, so for a young player to be thrust into a relegation battle may not be what is best for him. However, he may look at their former player Richarlison – whose form at the club got him a move to Tottenham Hotspur, and who has already scored twice for Brazil at the World Cup. The club are still looking for a replacement for Richarlison, and Duran would be a like-for-like replacement.
He would be competing with Neal Maupay for a starting place, who has scored just once so far this season. Lampard’s side is in need of a striker to score the goals to get them away from the drop zone, and Duran could be that man. At 6’1, Duran would offer more of a physical presence upfront than the 5’8 Maupay.
At Everton, he would be united with fellow countryman Yerry Mina, which would help him to settle at the club. Duran is still a young player, who has made three appearances for his country but was not selected to go to the World Cup. He must choose his next club wisely as it is a crucial time in his development. The temptation would be to join Manchester United or Liverpool, but game time is crucial and he is more likely to get that at Everton or West Ham.
Want your voice heard? Join the Green Street Hammers team!