“I don’t like to watch football all the time. The truth is, I get bored.”
Jhon Duran is authentic and honest as he sits down to talk to Sky Sports ahead of Aston Villa’s big Super Sunday clash with Tottenham.
But no one has been bored watching him this season.
The super sub, the scorer of sensational goals has lit up the Premier League and Champions League. There was speculation he might be sold in the summer. Now the conversation is whether he should dislodge Ollie Watkins as Villa’s frontline forward.
Listening to him open up on a variety of topics is as intriguing as his play is thrilling.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is perhaps unsurprisingly an inspiration. “I love him for his personality,” Duran says. “His self-confidence, his scoring ability, his temper on the pitch. And he always said, ‘why be like everyone if you can be different?’ So, I like the way he approaches football and life, and I like that example.
“I like to be different. I like to do what’s good for me, what makes me feel good, not what everyone wants me to do, and I think that’s how it’s going to be until the day I’m gone. This is me. I’m going to try to do everything to be happy, and I don’t care what they say outside, it’s me and my family, and here I am.”
Colombian Duran attributes his calmness and nerveless performances on the big stage to his background. “It’s instinctive, the upbringing, where I come from. You always have to work for your food. People who don’t have anything to eat get nervous. I’m not nervous. I’m very confident in myself and I have this in me.”
Son of a miner, Duran takes pride in the fact he has been able to buy his mother a home. “I think it’s the most important challenge I’ve had in my life. Thank God, I fulfilled it.” But behind his laid-back demeanour, his ambitions burn fiercely.
It has led to some fiery conversations with boss Unai Emery.
“There are (moments of) love and hate, sometimes! But no, I feel very grateful to him, very grateful to him and his coaching staff. We’ve had many problems, but they’re normal, I think,” says Duran.
“The truth is, I’m very happy to be here with him, to share the space with him, to learn from his teachings. He wants to teach me all the time. He’s protective, sometimes.
“Sometimes it happens, and there are sparks! So we’re constantly fighting! But I think it’s normal for a young man of my age, and a person like him who already knows a lot, who has already achieved so many things. And the truth is, I feel very, very grateful to be in this space, and that he’s a person as great in football as he is. To learn more from him every day, and I’m very happy with him here.
“Yes, sometimes we argue. Because he has his point of view, I have mine, and I’ve never been the one who stays quiet. If I have something to say, no matter who it is, I say it.”
It’s clear Duran feels he deserves more playing time. That certainly appeared to be the case when he reacted angrily to being subbed off after a rare start against Bologna in the Champions League last month.
But in Ollie Watkins, he recognises he has a talented team-mate who he is vying with for a role in the XI.
“Yes, patience has never been my thing. I’ve never had patience, to be honest, but you have to acquire it here,” says Duran. “Of course, Ollie is a great player, a great striker. He’s shown a lot, he’s helped us a lot. Last season, the past couple of seasons, he’s been incredible. He’s a great person.
“You have to have patience, and I keep working, and when I get the chance, I’ll do what Ollie does and help the team. I’m very happy to have competition, healthy competition, with a star from England, as he is now.”
Does Duran feel that his patience is improving? “Around two per cent!
“Now I wait a little bit. Before, I’d pick arguments every day! Now I wait a day for that, so it’s different.
“I think (Watkins) is in his moment, and you have to respect. Because he has the numbers, he’s doing the work, he has everything, he has the understanding, the experience, and I think I’m on my way to that. I’m on my way to being at the level. I keep working to improve a little more. Wanting to always be like I am now.
“And for me it’s very important, because in the future, we don’t know if what’s happening now can happen in another team, I don’t know. Nobody knows the future. But I think it’s also part of life, of work, to be mentally strong, especially. Because these are issues that, as a young player, you see the numbers he has this season, and you want to play all the time. So I think that it helps you to adjust a little for the future.”
And in the future, Duran believes Villa can achieve “big things”. Reflecting on how close he was to leaving in the summer and his role now, he says: “Yes, I think there were rumours. As a young man, the head goes to other places. But there was always total support from Unai, from (president of football operations) Monchi, and above all from Damian (Vidagany, director of football operations).
“The three of them are important pillars in this club. They have achieved many things in a short time, and they have helped me a lot. They were very valuable to me because they kept me grounded, they told me things as they have to be said. So I think that helps, in a way, the mind, and they… I don’t know, the start of the season was about my mind. Now it’s different.
“With experience, we’re going to do big things, and we’re working for that. Thanks to them, we’re here, and I’m happy here.”
The next chapters in Duran’s Villa career look set to be anything other than boring.
