“Body of a giant, soul of a child” – Former coach insists Emery improving ‘impulsive’ Aston Villa player

Jhon Durán has enjoyed an impressive season so far at Aston Villa, with six goals from nine games in all competitions.

This includes the striker scoring the winner in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The goal also saw the German club suffer their first Champions League group stage defeat since 2017.

EFE got in touch with the Aston Villa star’s former manager, Wilberth Perea, to discuss the 20-year-old’s journey so far. Mundo Deportivo have relayed his comments.

The Colombia international came up through the ranks of Envigado FC and was promoted to their first team in 2019. He left the South American club for MLS side Chicago Fire FC in January 2021, two years before joining Aston Villa.

Perea, who managed the current Villans player at Envigado’s academy, is of the belief Unai Emery has played a key role in Durán’s rise.

The frontman has mainly been a substitute since he arrived at Villa Park and has started to find the back of the net regularly this season. Perea insists Durán must be managed in a certain way, to get the best out of him.

“Jhon is a spectacular human being, sometimes impulsive,” he said.

“He has the body of a giant, but he still has the soul of a child, so you have to know how to guide him, you have to talk to him a lot, and that was the task I did. You have to know how to guide him and he always needs that paternal support from someone who is talking to him.

“Unai is helping him and believe me, that’s how you get the best out of him.”