Matt Maher Aston Villa latest

Transcript

00:00The big news for Villa ahead of Wednesday night's trip to Everton is that John Durham

00:05is back available. Villa's top scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions has

00:12been available for the last three games due to suspension following his sending off in

00:17controversial circumstances at Newcastle on Boxing Day. But he's back, whether he's going

00:24to push Olly Watkins out of the line-up, well we'll just have to see. But one thing that

00:28isn't going to happen this month is Villa selling Durham, Unai Emery pouring cold water

00:34on that today in pretty emphatic fashion when he said that he hoped to have John Durham

00:39and Olly Watkins at Villa for the next decade. Now there's a certain element of tongue-in-cheek

00:44here from Emery. He basically said that, well look, I've had players before who have played

00:50into their 40s and Olly Watkins is up to 29 at the minute, he's not even in his 30s. Olly

00:54Watkins could potentially do that. I mean, who knows what's going to happen next month

00:59in football, let alone the next 10 years. But certainly, I think Emery making the point

01:06that he's very happy with both of these strikers at the minute, he has long felt that this

01:11is a good partnership, not quite a partnership because they don't play that often together,

01:15but it's a good mix with Olly Watkins, the more experienced striker, and John Durham,

01:21the up-and-coming talent. Obviously, Durham, before he was suspended, had made a string

01:27of starts for the first time as a Villa player, but I think Emery happy with his options.

01:32Obviously, Durham, he's formed this season, the goals he's scored have earned him no shortage

01:37of suitors. Paris Saint-Germain among those interested, and no doubt that Villa are going

01:42to face bids most likely in the summer, maybe even this month still. But certainly from

01:48memory, the message that John Durham is certainly not for sale in January, and not for sale

01:53for the foreseeable future, it would seem.