Aston Villa funded a busy January transfer window after selling Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia – but it could easily have been Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez who departed for the Gulf State
While Man City might have spent the most in the January transfer window, parting with nearly £180m, Aston Villa were the Premier League’s most active side. After signing Donyell Malen in a £20m deal from Borussia Dortmund, Unai Emery also brought in Andres Garcia from Levante as well as snapping up Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi on loan.
Such dealings are eye-catching business as the Villans looked to strengthen their hand ahead of the Champions League knock-out stages. And it did not go unnoticed with Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.
Ahead of his own side’s trip to Villa Park on Wednesday night, the Dutchman acknowledged Villa’s impressive January incomings as he conceded the Reds faced a challenging task
“I think Villa away, when you get the fixture list, you all know that Villa away is one of the tougher ones you can face,” he said. “But last season was also a very interesting game with it ending 3-3, if I remember correctly.
“So, very good manager, always has a very good game plan. They brought in quite a lot of good players in the winter break as well and they already had a very good team.
“They qualified for [the] top eight in the Champions League, so it tells you that it’s a strong team we are going to face
Admittedly, Villa’s incomings were aided by their outgoings as they looked to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules
While the Villans snubbed an offer from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins, they did decide to cash in on Jhon Duran after Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr offered them £64m. Elsewhere, Jaden Philogene and Diego Carlos would depart for Ipswich Town and Fenerbahce for £20m and £10m respectively.
It was a bold decision from Villa to sell Duran, considering the 21-year-old had been in impressive form this season. Scoring 12 goals from 29 games, 10 came from 27 outings in the Premier League and Champions League despite the presence of Watkins limiting him to just five starts.
Meanwhile, his move to the Saudi Pro League came just a month after Liverpool star Luis Diaz had praised his compatriot for ‘shining in a super spectacular league’ and backed him to become the ‘best striker
“How good that he is living a great moment, that he is doing things well, that he is shining in a super spectacular league.
“I am very happy for him. We share a lot in the national team. He is a very calm boy, who goes with the flow, who, if he has to listen, does so too.
“He is in the process of continuing to learn like every kid, so he will continue to improve in what remains of his career and he will continue to score goals.
“He will continue to leave the country on high and he will continue to break it. He deserves it very much
Duran has continued his form for Al-Nassr, scoring four goals from his first two Saudi Pro League appearances for the club where he plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane. But while he might still be shining, it is no longer in a ‘super spectacular league’.
Liverpool should perhaps be relieved that they are not facing Duran, considering he tormented them on their last visit to Villa Park. Introduced in the 79th minute with Villa trailing 3-1, his three-minute brace ultimately earned his side an unlikely draw against the Reds.
Yet Villa arguably have Liverpool to thank and curse for the sale of the Colombian, given the fact that Al-Nassr reportedly only turned to the 21-year-old after reportedly missing out on Darwin Nunez.
Fabrizio Romano reported last week that Al-Nassr made two bids for the Uruguayan in January, with the highest totalling €75m, and that a financial agreement was very close between all parties involved, before the Reds ultimately pulled the plug.
Such a decision was reportedly made because Liverpool had no replacement, had no intention to overpay and felt Nunez could still play a decisive role in the second half of the campaign as they go in pursuit of Premier League and Champions League glory.
It would be curious as to whether such a rebuttal came before or after the striker’s match-winning brace off the bench against Brentford last month.
Yet his future beyond this season remains uncertain, with the striker utilised predominantly as a substitute by Slot. Scoring only six times this season, you have to go back to the Reds’ Anfield win over Aston Villa back in early-November – 101 days and 23 Liverpool matches ago – for the last time Nunez scored in the Premier League as a starter.
While his brace against the Bees came following a public show of faith from Slot, he has not scored since. And he was criticised heavily for his appearance off the bench in last weekend’s win over Wolves