Jhon Duran delivers perfect apology to Aston Villa fans by signalling he’s here to stay as he scores his team’s winner against West Ham… after gesturing that he had agreed a move to the Hammers earlier this summer

Jhon Duran offered the perfect apology to Aston Villa fans as he scored the winner in their Premier League opener against West Ham United, the club he came close to moving to in the summer.

The Colombian international fired home from Jacob Ramsey’s cutback in the 79th minute to help the Villans to a 2-1 win in the capital.

Immediately after scoring, Duran held his hands aloft towards the travelling Villa faithful to apologise before pointing towards himself and then to the ground to suggest he was staying at Villa Park.

Had Duran got his way earlier in the transfer window, it could have been West Ham he had scored the winner for and not Villa.

The Colombian international was mobbed by his teammates after his late winner in London

Duran scored what proved to be the winner for Villa in the 79th minute against West Ham

Duran held his hands up as if to say sorry to the travelling Aston Villa fans after scoring

Duran made a Hammers gesture with his arms during an Instagram live during the off-season

Stuck behind Ollie Watkins in Villa’s pecking order, Duran had sought a move away from Villa Park.

West Ham were heavily interested in the 20-year-old striker and it appeared to be a mutual feeling, with Duran even crossing his arms in a nod to the Hammers’ club crest on an Instagram live video.

The incident sparked an internal investigation at Villa, and MailSport understands Duran was read the riot act as a result of his indiscretion.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Villa manager Unai Emery revealed Duran had indeed requested a move elsewhere but the youngster had since reiterated his commitment to the club. 

‘He was telling us he thought his best option was to leave so he could play more for another club and fulfil his potential. I can understand it.

‘He is young and he has a big potential to exploit. He will need time and he will need to be patient. Of course when he makes a mistake like that it is not the right way, so we spoke to him. But these were a young person’s mistakes.

‘He is young and he sometimes makes mistakes that a mature and responsible person would not do. So the process is to try to support and help him.

‘When we spoke to him we tried to get him to show the commitment we want to build here. He accepted it and, after the conversation we had, his wish to commit to us now is going really well.’