Aston Villa’s Jhon Jader Durán has been included in the Colombia squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Ecuador.
In his pre-match press conference for the clash against Uruguay, La Tricolor manager Néstor Lorenzo talked about the striker’s situation at Aston Villa and his quotes are relayed by AS in Colombia.
The national team coach remains hopeful that the 19-year-old will soon start enjoying more minutes under Unai Emery.
Durán has made 18 league appearances since he arrived at Aston Villa in January and is still waiting for his first start. This season, he has clocked in 302 minutes from 11 games and has scored four goals in the process.
Lorenzo wants more.
“When he plays on the right, he is a player you like because he plays inwards more than outwards. He is a player who can play in either position eventually,” he said.
“At Aston Villa he has a lot of competition, a lot of players in his position and he is not playing as much as he deserves, I hope he becomes a starter soon.”
Lorenzo handed the South American only 47 minutes from two games during the last international break and claims from Colombia had suggested that the coach didn’t trust the player. It’ll be interesting to see if Durán will start in the next two games.
On September 25th, AS stated there’s excitement in Colombia over Durán’s development at Villa Park and he was backed to become a star under Emery’s guidance.