Why West Ham are yet to strike Jhon Duran and Kyle Walker-Peters deals
- West Ham looking to strengthen squad of new head coach Julen Lopetegui
- Talks with Aston Villa yet to yield agreement for forward target Jhon Duran
- Kyle Walker-Peters discussed prior to Southampton signing Flynn Downes
![Jhon Duran and Kyle Walker-Peters are West Ham targets Jhon Duran and Kyle Walker-Peters are West Ham targets](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2202,h_1238,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/90min_en_international_web/01j2y1gckpnz21v9sa37.png)
West Ham United believe Aston Villa's valuation of Jhon Duran is too high, sources have told 90min, while a deal for Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters could still happen after initial conversations were held before the Premier League's PSR deadline.
The Hammers began actively working on a deal to sign Duran last week, with the 20-year-old keen to leave Villa Park in order to play more first-team football.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is happy for Duran to leave – he serves as understudy to Ollie Watkins and is impatient to wait for game time – but the surprise Champions League qualifiers are looking to agree a package deal worth in the region of £40m.
90min understands that West Ham are currently £10m short of that valuation and are not convinced such an asking price represents good value for money, particularly as Lille's Jonathan David and Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah – strikers of a similar profile – are available for less.
The passing of the PSR deadline on June 30 means Villa are not under pressure to sanction a quick deal for Duran, though they will need to make their money back on the £50m they are about to spend on Everton midfielder Amadou Onana. Nonetheless, sales could still come later this window, in January or any other time before June 30, 2025.
West Ham have also been in talks with Southampton over Walker-Peters, but the bulk of conversations were held pre-PSR deadline when a deal was being thrashed out for midfielder Flynn Downes.
Southampton have signed Downes for £18m without needing to make a financial sacrifice and West Ham are yet to strike a separate agreement over Walker-Peters. Their interest in him remains, but it is no longer tied to Downes.
The 27-year-old has just a year remaining on his St Mary's contract, leaving Southampton to decide whether or not they want to risk losing him on a free transfer next summer, and faces increased competition for places following the arrival of Japan international Yukinari Sugawara from AZ Alkmaar.
West Ham need to strengthen at right-back after losing academy graduate Ben Johnson to Ipswich Town, leaving Vladimir Coufal as their only senior option.
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