Emery praises Duran´s start to the season

Unai Emery praised Jhon Duran’s attitude as the striker scored again in Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory away to Leicester.

Duran was the subject of heavy interest during the transfer window, with both West Ham and Chelsea reported to be interested in signing the Colombian.

But the 20-year-old remained at the club and has scored two goals in the first three games of the season, having scored the winner on the opening day against West Ham, and Emery reserved praise for Duran after the victory over Leicester.

The Spaniard said: “He is focused, I didn’t need to speak a lot about his future [during the window]. He is focused here. He has trained very well and is playing very well, doing the work we planned. He is scoring goals. Fantastic.”

Heading into the international break with 3 points! pic.twitter.com/nWVhVymLCg

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 31, 2024

Emery also was pleased with the performance of right back Lamare Bogarde – the 20 year-old made his first Premier League start after Matty Cash’s injury last week.

“He played being comfortable”, said Emery.

“When we use different young players, when we will need them they must be ready. Bogarde, he has qualities to play there [right-back] and to do well. He played well.”

Villa have continued their strong away form at the start of this season, and they have recorded 16 wins since Emery took charge, with only Manchester City and Arsenal having more victories.

The Spaniard believes the passionate Villa support on the road has played a huge role, saying: “We spoke about our supporters and that we always feel good away because we feel them. We have to be happy but keep going.”

Leicester boss Steve Cooper did not believe the result was a fair one for his side.

Cooper told BBC Sport: “I thought we looked a good team at times today. We definitely didn’t deserve to lose the game. For the first goal, we need to own the set play – but it should never have been a free kick.

“In the three games we’ve seen, we’ve seen more than enough in the performances to feel like we’re going to be OK [in the Premier League].”