Unai Emery Won’t Change It Soon – Former PL Star On Selection Question | OneFootball

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Former Premier League midfielder Craig Burley thinks that Aston Villa attacker Jhon Duran will not start games anytime soon in the league as Unai Emery feels Ollie Watkins can offer him more in terms of all round performance.

Duran, 20, has turned some heads with his performances this season, as he has scored eight times in 17 appearances for Aston Villa.

However, Emery has yet to give Duran a start in the Premier League, as he prefers Watkins, who has scored five times while setting up two goals, in the starting line-up.

Burley admitted that Duran has been brilliant at scoring goals from coming off the bench, but pointed out that to start a game, a centre forward needs to be good at holding up the ball and linking up the play.

He thinks that the Aston Villa boss believes that Watkins offers much more than Duran in terms of all round performance, which is keeping the 20-year-old out of the starting line-up.

Burley also added that having a player like Duran who can score goals coming off the bench is an asset for any manager but believes that the player will not start a game in the league any time soon.

“Jhon Duran obviously has been coming on and he has this great goalscoring record coming off the bench, but that is a whole different scenario to starting with all the other facets of the game, the hold-up play, the link-up play’, Burley said on ESPN.

“It is all very well coming on when it is a tight game or you are behind or you need a goal and just making something happen.

“It is a different ball game playing 90 minutes.

“It is not the same scenario, but I get the point; it is crystal clear that at the moment, Unai Emery feels there is much more to Ollie Watkins’ game in terms of being all-round than Duran.

“Maybe that will change, but I do not think so anytime soon and he has been so good coming off the bench, as I said and making a difference, which is a great thing to have for a manager as well.”

Aston Villa are on a five-match winless run and it remains to be seen whether Emery will change something in his forward department when they return after the international break to take on Crystal Palace.