Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano reveals how close Chelsea really came to signing PL star in January

Chelsea were never as close to signing Jhon Duran from Aston Villa as may have been reported by some outlets back in January, according to transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano.

The talented 20-year-old looks like a player with a big future in the game, but it remains to be seen if the Blues will come back in for him, as it seems there’s nothing concrete happening right now, and things weren’t even particularly advanced in January, despite speculation.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano played down the Duran to Chelsea links, saying the Colombia international was simply one of a number of options the west London giants assessed.

Chelsea could certainly do with signing a new striker in the near future after an inconsistent campaign from Senegalese youngster Nicolas Jackson, but it seems likely that they’ll look for someone a little more proven than Duran.

CFC have invested a lot in talented young players, and it may be that the likes of Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez will eventually come good for the club.

For now, however, a change of direction is surely needed to add more balance to this squad, so it perhaps makes sense that Romano doesn’t have much of an update on the Duran transfer saga.

Duran transfer: The truth about Chelsea’s interest in Villa forward

“Jhon Duran was another name linked with Chelsea back in January, but the move was never close,” Romano said.

“At the moment I’m not aware of concrete contacts, he’s just one of many players they considered and discussed but it never led to a proper negotiation with Villa. He’s fully focused on Villa now, no one else.”

Villa fans will no doubt be pleased with this as it looks like they