Romano: Chelsea 'really close' to signing striker better than Haaland

Tom Weber

Updated: 5 Oct 2024 15:48 BST
3 min read

Chelsea were 'really, really, really close' to signing Jhon Duran in the summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Article continues under the video

The Colombian has started the new season like a house on fire and is currently scoring at a better goals-per-minute ratio than even Man City sharpshooter Erling Haaland.

Aston Villa's cheat code off the bench has netted six goals in 297 minutes spread across nine appearances and he scored the all-important goal that sealed his club's famous 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich midweek.

As a result of his form, Duran has become one of the protagonists of this still-young season. It has been claimed that the 20-year-old has 'blown Unai Emery away' with his application in training and on matchdays despite his limited minutes, supposed attitude problems and the fact that he was on the verge of leaving in the summer.

Chelsea and West Ham were interested in securing his signature this summer, but no move ultimately materialised. Villa rebuffed the Hammers' approaches, but the Blues actually had his signing all but wrapped up.

Chelsea almost signed Duran

At least that is according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who has claimed that Chelsea were only a Conor Gallagher decision away from signing Duran. The England midfielder was supposed to head the other way, but he was not keen on joining Aston Villa, signing for Atletico Madrid instead.

"Against Bayern, he scored the winner on a historical night for Aston Villa, but Jhon Duran was actually really, really, really close to becoming a new Chelsea player at some point over the summer transfer window," Romano told CaughtOffside. "It was before the beginning of the Euros. In that moment, early June, Chelsea and Aston Villa almost agreed on every part of the deal, which included Conor Gallagher.

"He was a priority target for Unai Emery and for Aston Villa, but the real issue in this story was that Conor Gallagher rejected the move, particularly because of the timing as he wanted to represent England. The deal collapsed, but Jhon Duran was a really strong candidate for Chelsea."