Bold statement here. I still think Santos Borre is probably starter if healthy. Jhon Cordoba did well in his very first start against Romania. Cassierra looked pretty good against Spain. Competition will be fierce and the two friendlies may give us an idea or may just be experiments formation wise.
Through the tournament borre will suck Duran will come in and score Duran will be the starter by the end of the tourney
Duran and Yaser coming off the bench/ getting playing time would be fun to watch in the Copa. 'I just have my doubts Lorenzo will go that route even if Duran scores a golazo against Paraguay or Costa Rica.
I doubt Yaser will get many minutes if he calls Carasscal or Quintero. Not a fan of either player but unless we switch formation because James won't have a team for the next month. Not going to start a 20 year old who just became a starter in a low mid table team in 2nd division England no James would prefer we bring none of those guys but play 2 strikers. Yaser can come as a winger but the 10 role goes into the garbage if no James
I agree with most of this. But as I said before it can also depend on how the friendlies go and some experimentation in those games. You will be our eyes and ears in Connecticut so take good notes CrzD.
Happy he will get a chance in the champions league next season. Villa have been impressive all season long.
Duran has higher upside but I think it will be difficult to start James and Duran and implement the high energy pressing style that Lorenzo is using. Duran is a big boy and he works hard, and he probably can give 60 minutes tops at this point with the pace of the game that we want to play. Borre has his weaknesses but he works his ass off and offers alot leading the press and dropping deeper if needed to help out defending.
Here comes my getting other people's takes from around the world post of the week. I was reading some of the Villa social medias and message boards. Just funny to read how many of them think he has the potential to be world class. But many keep on comparing him to Mario Balotelli. I mean, I know he has a chip on his shoulder but Balotelli? Minds you, if he plays like Super Mario in Euro 2012 and scores a Golazo like he did against Germany in a Semi I am all for it but obviously the overall career path and shenanigans are not what I want to see from him.
Also Balotelli had a lot of issues not simply because of the media all over him for the simplest of things but how he could be easily discriminated. As far as I know Duran hasn't had to deal with any of that.
The comparison with Balotelli is apt but as a cautionary tale, IMHO. Specifically, you are talking about very physically talented players with huge upside that are also prone to picking up cheap cards. Duran shares an element with Balotelli 's game where defenders are simply uncomfortable with his physicality. They are both sensational finishers with a canon for a shot too. Duran, if he can control his emotions on the field more as he matures, has a chance to be more Drogba-esque , and I think we can all hope he can develop more self control and avoid a Balotelli career of red cards and inconsistency.
Yeah the comparisons for a young guy with confidence and the same build and game with a rocket shot make sense, doesn't mean that Duran is a knucklehead like Balotelli was. Of course you never know what could happen, but I don't think there is any evidence to say that Duran is on Balotelli levels of mischief that we need to be worried but also Duran is already much more inclined to work off the ball and defend and press then Balotelli who was pretty lazy in that respect.
Game commentators just said that he's awkward and difficult to play with.... 2min later he gets pissed at life because his teammate didn't filter the ball back to him
🙌 Premio a Jhon Jader Durán en Aston Villa antes de la Copa América🔝 El colombiano fue elegido por los hinchas como el mejor futbolista del club en mayo🇨🇴 ¿Le darías la titular en la Copa América? pic.twitter.com/aU8N7r5pVw— AS Colombia 🇨🇴 (@AS_Colombia) May 27, 2024
That's a bold choice from the fans but those two goals against Liverpool ended up deciding their CL fate.
🗣️"Que mi nombre suene en diferentes equipos grandes es muy importante para mi carrera"🇨🇴Jhon Jáder Durán se refiere a las posibilidades de un eventual traspaso de club pic.twitter.com/KLfe19VC8h— AS Colombia 🇨🇴 (@AS_Colombia) July 23, 2024
Pipe Sierra claims deal is agreed. Let's see. 🚨 Jhon Jáder Durán (20) está a mínimos detalles de convertirse en nuevo jugador del #WestHam. Ya hay un acuerdo verbal con #AstonVilla por una cifra cercana a los 35M£ 🇨🇴👀 Se espera que en las próximas se concrete la documentación para la firma del delantero colombiano pic.twitter.com/5YSYN4jKwY— Pipe Sierra (@PSierraR) July 25, 2024
We gonna get the chance to see how he can do as a starter in the Premier League, West Ham could be exciting this year with a good manager and solid squad.