Jhon Duran breaks silence on Chelsea transfer after £40m Aston Villa talks

Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was tight-lipped on his future during a Colombia press conference over the USA amid interest from clubs including Chelsea this summer.

The Blues were given permission to discuss personal terms with the 20-year-old earlier this month after talks with Villa over a move worth £40m. Background checks were also carried out on Duran, who wants to join Enzo Maresca's squad for the new season.

Chelsea had an interest in Duran last January too, but a deal never materialised. He joined Villa from Chicago Fire less than 18 months ago in a deal worth an initial £14.75m, and was made to wait until March of this year to make his first Premier League start, 10 months after bagging his first league goal against Everton at the start of last season.

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He could now leave Villa despite the club already solving their issues regarding Profit and Sustainability Rules with the imminent €50m sale of Douglas Luiz. Villa are set to complete two deals with Chelsea this week, the signing of Ian Maatsen for £37.5m and the sale of 18-year-old Omari Kellyman for £19m.

It is unclear whether Chelsea are willing to continue their pursuit of Duran, or if they have moved on to other targets.

"The options of the other teams I don’t know, I am not aware now," Duran told Gol Caracol while representing Colombia at the Copa America. "I’m focused on the national team, at the Copa America, wanting to add minutes, supporting the team a lot.

"For those topics of possible signing I already have other people who take care of that."

Colombia started their Copa America campaign with a 2-1 win over Paraguay earlier this week, but Duran stayed on the bench. Nestor Lorenzo's side play again on Friday night against Costa Rica.

"You want, like every young person, to play and participate, but there we continue waiting, working with the same hunger and humility as always." Duran said about playing his part for Colombia at the tournament.

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