West Ham actively working on signing Jhon Duran from Aston Villa

West Ham United are actively working to sign Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The Colombian has previously been of interest to Chelsea, who signed Omari Kellyman from Villa before June's PSR deadline, but West Ham are now at the head of the queue as they bid to strengthen Julen Lopetegui's forward options.

90min understands that Villa are prepared to sell Duran this summer – their preference would have been to keep Kellyman had PSR compliance not been an issue – and the 20-year-old wants to explore opportunities away from the club despite their qualification for next season's Champions League.

Duran feels he is ready to play regular first-team football and knows that he won't get that at Villa Park as he trails Ollie Watkins in the pecking order – he contributed 19 goals and 13 assists last season to help Unai Emery's side secure a top-four finish.

Villa also aren't convinced that Duran is a good stylistic fit and that's a key reason in their willingness to sell to West Ham, who are backing new manager Lopetegui in a bid to reinvigorate their threadbare playing squad.

Sources have confirmed that West Ham will need to pay in the region of £35m for Duran, which is just shy of the figure they recently paid Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign their captain Max Kilman. West Ham do have other targets in mind if they're unable to agree terms with Aston Villa, who ideally want £40m or accept a lesser bid with a healthy sell-on clause.

Callum Wilson, who could be available for between £15m and £20m, is one name that has been discussed at West Ham, though they could face competition from Saudi Pro League clubs.

Lille's Jonathan David also remains an option for West Ham, but interest from London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham is more concrete at this stage.

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