Duran vs Watkins: Agbonlahor blasts Aston Villa striker in now-deleted post
Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was criticised for his first-half performance against Nottingham Forest, in a since-deleted social media post by Gabby Agbonlahor.
The Villains struggled in the first half against a solid Nottingham Forest side, going into the break at 0-0 after a poor 45 minutes from the Colombian in a rare start.
Durán has enjoyed a strong season so far, scoring 11 goals, though most of them have come as a substitute.
The 21-year-old was given the nod over Ollie Watkins, who has himself had an uninspiring start to the season, often making erratic decisions on the pitch.
However, former Villa player Gabby Agbonlahor took to X to criticise the younger striker’s lacklustre first-half performance, before deleting it when the 21-year-old opened the scoring after the break with a nice header.
The former Villan forward posted: “If Watkins had a first half like that…” followed by a shrugging emoji.
Aston Villa need to find a way to find both Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins happy
To understand Agbonlahor’s critique, Durán’s first-half stats against Forest were concerning.
He had 57% pass accuracy, had one off-target shot, one failed dribble, won just one of eight duels, and lost possession nine times [Sofascore]. However, sometimes the only stat that truly matters is the number of goals scored—and Durán delivered.
With 11 goals this term and a constant threat in the Champions League, he exudes confidence in his ability.
His long-range strikes against teams like Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig have already attracted attention from other clubs.
Despite this, Villa fans firmly believe that the former Barcelona man is their long-term solution and advocate building the team around him.
However, Football Insider revealed last month that he prefers being a first-choice striker, rather than playing second fiddle as he does now.
After scoring as a starter against Forest, Unai Emery may now be persuaded that the young forward deserves more starts. Even if it means benching Watkins, last season’s standout performer.
Agbonlahor was ultimately proven all the more wrong by the fact that Forest fought back to win 2-1 through late goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga, after Watkins replaced Duran in the 74th minute.
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