Unai Emery says Jhon Duran is ‘completely involved’ with Aston Villa after a summer of transfer speculation surrounding the Colombian striker.
Duran came off the bench on Saturday and scored the winner in a 2-1 victory at West Ham for the Villains, marking a brilliant start to the new season for Emery’s side.
It was an especially painful goal to concede for the Hammers because they tried to buy Duran earlier in the summer, having a bid rejected by Villa.
The 20-year-old appeared to be agitating for a move, even throwing up the crossed-arm symbol ofWest Ham on an Instagram Live, but no deal has been done.
Emery says the Colombia international remains a big part of his plans, insisting Duran is ‘very important’ to the squad.
‘It was a very important goal,’ Emery told Sky Sports. ‘He’s completely involved with us after coming back from his holidays and after [playing for] his national team.
‘There will be more rumours about him after his goal, but I believe in him. I gave him 30 minutes today and he’s very important to us.’
Summer signing Amadou Onana opened the scoring for Villa, before a Lucas Paqueta equaliser from the penalty spot.
The Villains were the better team, though, and deserved their winner through Duran, which delighted their Spanish boss.
‘It’s fantastic,’ said Emery. ‘Our victory feels very good and I’m very proud of our supporters, they were here with us for our first match, travelling from Birmingham to London to support us.
‘We felt their support in 90 minutes. The three points are very important for us and how we achieved that here, where it’s very difficult in West Ham’s stadium.
‘The performance we got with different players in 90 minutes was fantastic, the commitment, the behaviour before the match, how they were focusing was fantastic.
‘I am happy because we started the first match with three points, but now I’m focusing on the next match against Arsenal at home in Villa Park. I am very pleased with every player and how they played today.’
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