Arsene Wenger congratulates club for completing 'surprise' Aston Villa transfer
Aston Villa opted to cash-in on talented striker Jhon Duran during the transfer window
Arsene Wenger has congratulated Al Nassr for pulling off a transfer coup by signing Jhon Duran.
The legendary Arsenal manager, who is now FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, admitted he was shocked that the Saudi outfit were able to lure the Colombian from Aston Villa.
Duran, who is only 21-years-old, completed a £64million transfer that brought to an end his two-and-a-half-year relationship with Villa at a time when he seemed to have closed the gap on Ollie Watkins as Unai Emery’s first choice striker.
Instead he opted to maximise his earning potential by moving to the Riyadh-based outfit where he will now play with Cristiano Ronaldo and speaking to Al-Nassr’s cameras the Frenchman praised the club for making the move.
"Duran is a young player. He played at Aston Villa where he was adored and loved,” Wenger said. "It was a surprise that during the season, from the Premier League, he moves to the Saudi Pro League. But congratulations, they have done a good job there."
Wenger’s comments came with added meaning given the fact Villa’s decision to allow Duran to leave meant Arsenal would be unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Watkins to the Emirates Stadium.
That failure has come back to bite Mikel Arteta even more following the news Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the season leaving the Gunners without a recognised striker for the run-in.
Villa replaced Duran with Marcus Rashford who has joined on loan until the end of the season and who made a promising start in his first stint away from Manchester United in the 2-1 win over Tottenham at the weekend.