Aston Villa barge Chelsea and Man Utd aside in race for Duran replacement

Tom Weber

Updated: 26 Feb 2025 11:25 CST
3 min read

Aston Villa are 'stepping up' their pursuit of Samu Aghehowa, according to a report.

The Spanish wonderkid has been thriving for Porto since joining the club from Atletico Madrid last summer. After failing to secure a move to Chelsea, Samu headed to Portugal in what appears to have been a wise move.

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The 20-year-old has to date notched 20 goals and three assists in 31 appearances for Porto, once again putting his name on the map for Europe's elite.

Chelsea are said to retain an interest in the striker. They remain in the market for a No.9, but Ipswich Town sharpshooter Liam Delap appears to be their favoured option for the summer as things stand.

Man Utd, who were bullied by Samu in the Europa League earlier in the season, are also said to have been keenly watching him since his brace against them.

Aston Villa enter race

Now, CaughtOffside claims that Aston Villa have joined his long list of admirers, too, while Arsenal are also mentioned. Indeed, it is claimed that Unai Emery and company are 'stepping up' their pursuit of the player.

Villa lost Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr in the most lucrative deal of the January transfer window but did not sign a like-for-like replacement, instead opting to bring in three versatile options in Donyell Malen, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.

With Arsenal retaining an interest in Ollie Watkins after their talks with Villa in January, the Birmingham club are scouring the market for a No.9 and have taken a liking to Samu.

The youngster certainly wouldn't look out of place at Villa Park, with the Villans' Spanish contingent steadily growing since the appointment of Emery.

He might be quite pricey, however, as Atletico included a sizeable sell-on percentage in their deal with Porto, which makes the latter more inclined to ask for a large sum. Moreover, Samu has a prohibitive €100 million release clause.