Conor Gallagher sending striker to West Ham

Robin Bairner
Robin Bairner
  • Updated: 3 Jul 2024 01:47 CDT
  • 4 min read
Conor Gallagher celebrates for Chelsea after scoring against Crystal Palace, 2023/24
© IMAGO

Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher is set to have a key role in sending a striker to West Ham United this summer.

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TalkSport reports that the Hammers have moved into position to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa – a player who the Blues have been looking to sign for several months.

Negotiations between Chelsea and Villa were extensive, but it now appears that the Blues have given up on signing the Colombia international following deals to sign Omari Kellyman from the Villans and Marc Guiu from Barcelona.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals

Current ETV
Player image Jhon Durán
Jhon Durán

F (C), M (L)

Aston Villa logo

Aston Villa

Jhon Durán
Jhon Durán

F (C), M (L)

Aston Villa

Aston Villa

€6.9M

ETV Range

€5.2M - €8.6M

One of the reasons that the Blues’ Duran talks broke down was that they were unable to find a suitable player to include in the swap deal. Gallagher had been earmarked as that star, but he refused to move to the Villa Park outfit.

West Ham are set to pounce, with TalkSport reporting that the London side have added Duran to their summer transfer shortlist amid claims that the striker, who is currently at the Copa America with Colombia, is not a prominent part of Unai Emery’s plans as Aston Villa.

READ MORE: Euro 2024 top scorers

Duran needs rejuvenated

Duran joined Aston Villa in 2022 from the Chicago Fire for a fee of €16.6 million but has struggled to live up to that billing, although at just 20 years old, he remains a player to watch for the future.

Nevertheless, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has diminished to €6.9m, having hit a high of €11.9m a year ago.

He has scored eight goals in 49 outings for Aston Villa to date.

Jhon Duran, Aston Villa
© IMAGO - Jhon Duran, Aston Villa

Data analytics firm SciSports believe Duran has the potential to become a first-team player at West Ham but would arrive only as a hot prospect.

A poacher in terms of his style, the forward was one of the poorer-performing strikers in the Premier League during the 2023/24 campaign, SciSports indicate.

Duran will hope that a transfer might unlock his best level once again.

West Ham summer transfers

West Ham summer signings

PlayerFromFee
Luis GuilhermePalmeiras€23m
Wes FoderinghamSheff UtdFree Transfer

West Ham summer sales

PlayerToFee
Said BenrahmaLyon€14.4m
Thilo KehrerMonaco€11m
Nathan TrottFC Kopenhagen€1.5m
Ben JohnsonIpswichFree Transfer
Joseph AnangSt Patrick'sFree Transfer
Angelo OgbonnaFree AgentFree Transfer
Divin MubamaFree AgentFree Transfer

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