Aston Villa is delighted to confirm Jhon Durán has completed a permanent transfer from Chicago Fire for an undisclosed fee.
The 19-year-old striker joins Villa having scored eight goals for the MLS side in all competitions during the 2022 season.
An exciting young talent, Durán has also represented Colombia at senior level.
At the top of the table, we have one of the tightest title races in recent memory, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Man City and Tottenham all separated by just three points.
And at the other end, we have the promoted three of Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all desperately trying to gain ground on the likes of points-deducted Everton, Nottingham Forest and Brentford in the battle stay up.
All of that is not even mentioning the battle for European places, Manchester United’s struggles under Erik ten Hag, or Newcastle’s injury woes.
Of course, a revolutionary signing doesn’t always have to cost the Earth. In the most recent transfer window, for example, there were plenty of shrewd acquisitions, with a number of players arriving for cheaper prices (if any) than their positional peers and offering serious value to their teams.
At Squawka, we’ve ranked the best of these so-called ‘bargain’ transfers from the summer window, using players that cost less than £20m.
For teams who are promoted to the Premier League, goalkeeper may be the most important position to look at when you’re planning your squad. A good goalkeeper can be the difference between staying up and relegation. Luton’s choice was to sign Thomas Kaminski from Blackburn Rovers for a fee believed to be around £3m, after he kept 10 clean sheets and made 83 saves in the championship last season — the Hatters needed to replace Ethan Horvath who was only on loan from Nottingham Forest last season.
Kaminski has conceded 37 goals this season, the third-most in the Premier League. According to Opta’s Expected Goals On Target Conceded model, however, he would be expected to have conceded 42 times. That +5 differential is the best figure of any ‘keeper in the division, and a strong indication Luton would be significantly worse off without Kaminski.
He has also won Save of the Month this season, claiming the award in November for a double save against Crystal Palace to help secure Luton’s first Premier League at Kenilworth Road.