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West Ham's new and improved bid of £57million for Jhon Duran has been rejected by Aston Villa, talk SPORT understands. An offer of £40m was submitted last week, and the Hammers' club-record bid has also been turned down. It's thought that Unai Emery's side have no interest in selling the player who recently extended his contract at the club until 2030. West Ham previously bid for Duran last summer with an offer worth £30million plus teenager Lewis Orford, however this was turned down. Since then Duran has gone on to score 12 goals in all competitions for Villa this term. West Ham need a striker due to injuries suffered to existing goalscorers Niclas Fullkrug and Michail Antonio. Neither centre forward has been given a return date by the club with Antonio recovering from a car accident and Fullkrug a substantial thigh injury. Even with them fit, Fullkrug has failed to impress since his £27m summer move from Borussia Dortmund. Antonio has been West Ham's only reliable source of goals since his signing, with the club spending big on No. 9s like Sebastien Haller and Gianluca Scamacca only to be left dissapointed. Duran, though, may represent more of a guarantee given his impressive form in England. This season he's averaging one goal-per game, more than Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland. Duran was reportedly the subject of interest from Chelsea in the summer after eight goals in 37 games in his first full season. He's now surpassed that figure, despite all 12 of his Premier League appearances coming off the bench. That's unsurprisingly caught the eye, with West Ham recording the sixth-fewest goals scored in the top flight this season, finding the back of the net 27 times in 22 games. Changes have been made at the London Stadium in response with Julen Lopetegui replaced by Graham Potter. Yet one thing remains the same, West Ham's intent to bolster their forward ranks. Two candidates to do that are Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz and Marseille's Elye Wahi, talk SPORT understands. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited
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