Former Colombia striker Carlos Bacca is acting as an intermediary between Aston Villa and his country as they look to reach an agreement over striker Jhon Jader Durán.
That’s according to journalist Fabio Poveda, relayed by Noticias RCN, who says that Bacca is speaking to his former manager so the striker can compete for Colombia’s U20s this month.
Aston Villa completed the signing of Durán from Chicago Fire earlier this week, paying €16.64m to sign the highly rated Colombian forward.
Emery is believed to want the 19-year-old as a part of his plans immediately, which has caused issues for Colombia’s U20s as they want him for the U20 South American Championships later this month.
Not having him would be a ‘headache’ for Hector Cardenas for his team and so negotiations are underway with Aston Villa to release him.
That’s a major blow for the Colombian Football Federation who are now ‘doing everything possible’ so that Durán can return and play in the tournament.
This has seen them employ the aid of former striker Carlos Bacca, who is talking to his former manager Unai Emery to convince Aston Villa to release their new signing.
“Carlos Bacca is the link between the Colombian Football Federation and Aston Villa to get Jhon Jader Duran back to the Colombian national team quickly, as he does: talking directly to Unai Emery. A friend and former coach of the Junior player,” journalist Fabio Poveda reportedly told Blu Radio.
Bacca made 143 appearances for Emery during his career, more than any other manager, and it seems Colombia are looking to take advantage of that when it comes to Durán.
Whether he is successful remains to be seen, with Colombia in a bind if they cannot reach an agreement with Aston Villa over him.
They will not be able to replace Durán in their squad as that is against CONMEBOL regulations, hence their desperation to strike some sort of deal.
