Jhon Durán’s goal-scoring prowess predates his recent form for Aston Villa, and he almost left his uncle Oswaldo Sombra Durán without a salary as a result.
Born in Columbia, the 20-year-old started his career in his native country, playing for Envigado for two years before making a move to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.
A year after his stay with Chicago Fire, Aston Villa snapped up his signature and he has established himself as a hero for the Midlands side.
During his teenage years, Durán was promised by his uncle Oswaldo that he would reward him financially if he scored in the final of a grassroots tournament.
To the surprise of Oswaldo, the talented striker ended up scoring six goals in the game, which almost got the former penniless.
Speaking with noticias caracol, Oswaldo jokingly recalled the incident:
“I remember there was a time when I encouraged him financially to score goals, and in a final, I told him that if he scored a goal, I would give him 50,000; if he scored two, I would give him 100,000, and from then on, I would give him 200,000. I couldn’t stay for the match, but when it was over he called me and said, ‘Man, I scored six goals. ’ He almost left me without a salary (laughs).”
Durán grabbed the headline once again yesterday when he scored a mouth-watering goal, beating Manuel Nuer with a wonder strike to help Aston Villa continue their fine start to the UEFA Champions League and end Bayern Munich’s winning streak in the group stage of the competition.
The Columbia international has six goals for Unai Emery’s side despite starting just one game across all competitions.
