Jhon Duran isn’t going anywhere this summer transfer window after all. His potential move to West Ham United collapsed, and it turns out there is a connection to that situation in Saturday’s friendly opponent, Borussia Dortmund. That all said, it remains to be seen how Aston Villa manager Unai Emery works him in this weekend.
Aston Villa at Borussia Dortmund FYIs
Kick-off time: 4PM BST, Aug 10, 2024, Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany
Competition: Club Friendly
Team News: Aston Villa Borussia Dortmund
Starting XI Predictions: Aston Villa Borussia Dortmund
Buy the book: Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America
Aston Villa vs Borussia Dortmund Team News
Elsewhere Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara remain out long-term with knee injuries. Mings could be back in late September while Kamara is looking at a late October return.
Ian Maatsen will look to feature against the team that he spent last season on loan with.
Shifting gears to Dortmund, Niclas Fullkrug is gone to West Ham United now, as the east London club decided to go with him, after they couldn’t get a Duran deal over the line.
Elsewhere Gio Reyna is back from his loan stint at Nottingham Forest. We’ll see if the American can now found his groove in Dortmund.
Finally, Serhou Guirassy has been ruled out until mid-September, due to injury.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.