Jhon Jáder Durán’s agent Jonathan Herrera has told Gol Caracol that the striker was not pleased with Aston Villa’s decision to block him from representing Colombia at the U20 World Cup earlier this year.
The U20 World Cup in Argentina kicked off on May 20th, even before the 2022/23 Premier League season was concluded. Therefore, Unai Emery refused to allow the 19-year-old to leave as the Villans were then chasing Europa League qualification.
Aston Villa finished in seventh spot, a point behind sixth placed Brighton & Hove Albion, and had to settle for a place in the Europa Conference League.
Herrera has insisted the situation was complicated, and he and the player’s family were there to help Durán.
“The truth is that it was hard, very complicated for him, because he was excited about going to the World Cup,” Herrera said.
“It’s no secret to anyone that Jhon was very eager and was quite affected by the issue of the national team because he came with Héctor Cárdenas [Colombia U20 manager] in a process and was a fundamental piece for the team, but he also thought a little about the fact that he was presented with the opportunity to play for Aston Villa and in the end we, both his family and myself, have to be there to help him in the decisions he makes.
“These are complicated decisions, but we look at them thinking about the future, the possibility of reaching the Premier League and if he came to do things well, it would be despite what is happening today, they called him back to the national team and he has already scored his first goal for Aston Villa. In the end it was hard to face the issue of his absence with the U20 national team, but it was the circumstances of the moment.”
Back in May, Aston Villa played four league matches and Emery used the 19-year-old as a substitute in three of them. Durán continues to be a substitute at Villa Park this season and has clocked in 120 minutes from five games, scoring two goals in the process.
Last week, the Aston Villa frontman featured for Colombia in their 1-0 win over Venezuela in the World Cup qualifiers. Herrera said his client is now enjoying life and “making the most of the minutes” he gets with La Tricolor.
