Aston Villa have rejected a bid from Premier League rivals West Ham for forward Jhon Duran, the PA news agency understands.
West Ham first registered an interest in Duran last summer but failed to pursue initial advances for the Colombian striker and he signed a new deal with Villa until 2030 in October.
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However, the Hammers have stepped up their efforts to bring the 12-goal forward to London and had a bid reported to be in the region of £57million turned down by Villa on Monday.
The transfer speculation is an unwanted distraction for Villa ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash away to Monaco.
Leading scorer Duran is set to be involved, but, with 20 of his 27 appearances this season having come as a substitute, boss Unai Emery acknowledged it was a challenge for him to find a way to play the highly-rated attacker with Ollie Watkins.
Watkins scored his 10th goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Arsenal and insisted post-match he could partner Duran, which has only happened once under Emery in the 5-0 loss away to Crystal Palace last May.
©️PA News
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