West Ham told 'ring Aston Villa' after club-record bid rejected

01/25/2025 07:00 AM

West Ham must “ring Aston Villa” to establish their valuation of Jhon Duran before deciding whether to meet the asking price this month.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson insisted that the Hammers must stop making unrealistic offers publicly as a PR exercise and focus on backing the manager.

This comes after they made a club-record £57million offer for Jhon Duran, dwarfing their previous record £45million signing of Sebastian Haller in 2019.

Robinson, however, insisted they should have contacted Villa prior to making an official move to establish their asking price, rather than making a bid which was unlikely to be accepted.

The former England man has insisted the bid had “no chance” of tempting Villa to sell the striker, with the club dismissing their attempt out of hand.

Duran, 21, signed a new contract at Villa Park in October and remains a very important part of Unai Emery’s squad, making a move to West Ham unlikely this month.

West Ham slammed over Jhon Duran ‘PR stunt’ as Aston Villa reject record bid

Former West Ham scout Mick Brown previously told Football Insider that the club are working hard to sign a new striker before the transfer window closes on 3 February.

Now, Robinson has insisted the Hammers must back Graham Potter in the transfer market, but not through making “pie in the sky” offers for unrealistic signings.

“They’ve got to stop putting these bids in for players that are just pie in the sky offers and are not going to be accepted,” he told Football Insider.

“How many times have we seen West Ham go and put a bid in the public domain that they’ve made?

“They’ve made the bid for Jhon Duran, £57million.

“He’s not a player that you bid for, he’s one you ring up Aston Villa and ask how much they want for him, then you either meet their asking price or you don’t.

“He’s a valuable player to Villa, he’s just signed a new contract, West Ham have got no chance in the world of getting him for £57million.

“It’s all about PR and journalism, putting these bids out in the public domain.

“Villa dismissed it out of hand because it’s nowhere near their valuation of the player.

“If they want a true valuation, they need to get it from Aston Villa and if you want to pay it, pay it.

“They’re nowhere near getting Jhon Duran, but they do need to back the manager because they’re the type of players that they need.”

In other news, insider shares new update on Ansu Fati to West Ham.

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