Pelzer was a German defender who played for several teams in his homeland – plus 18 months at Blackburn.
Sadly his time at Ewood Park was blighted by injuries and he managed just one League Cup game against Walsall in 2002.
In December 2019, four years after retiring from playing, Pelzer got his first job with a club – technical director of MLS side Chicago Fire.
A few months into the job he went to Envigado to scout a defender – who they also went on to sign.
“I was watching our main target Carlos Teran at the time,” he told BBC Sport. “Jhon got subbed in later on and you could already see how good he was.
“He was a raw talent but you could see his speed and acceleration. In the air he was a handful for the defenders already.
“From my experience in England I knew he had already something for England. That was something where you could have the fantasy he could make it. It was a wow effect.”
But there was a twist – in the form of an article headlined ‘Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football’ that included Duran.
“A few weeks later the Guardian brought a list out, external and after that it was a race,” said Pelzer.
“We wanted to get him somehow but the clock was ticking. There were so many other teams chasing him as well. We were convinced about his qualities.”
Again, Duran’s strong family roots were evident during negotiations.
“During the pandemic we had to be creative,” said Pelzer. “We had to get in touch with the family – that was not that easy. Finally we made it, we got everyone on the same page.
“We showed him how he would progress here. We had a lot of conversations with his family and that was also something that helped a lot in the moment.”
And so in January 2021 a 17-year-old Duran became the youngest international signing in MLS history – for a fee of $2.5m (£1.8m).
But he could not move until he turned 18 – so spent the next year on loan with Envigado.
As well as playing and training with his Colombian club, he had weekly individual training sessions for the Fire.
“It was important for us that he was well prepared,” said Pelzer. “In acceleration, technique, finishing, a lot of jumping exercises, we trained him.
“You could see the numbers every week were better, better. The trajectory was already going in the direction you could see if he trains well and is focused on his work he can achieve a good level.”
After a total of nine goals in 47 games for Envigado, Duran left for the States. “For a young South American boy coming into a country like the US it was different,” said Pelzer.
“The city is huge compared to where he came from. Of course he had to adapt.”
Pelzer said he “was very raw but showed a lot of bright things” on his debut. “That was very impressive but we had to work with him a lot after to get him in the right frame,” he said.
“He has a lot of talent. When he joined us it was about channeling all his qualities because he has to stay focused on his work,” continued the German. “If he is able to focus there and put all his efforts into his work he is able to achieve a very high ceiling.”
Duran scored one goal in the first half of the season – but netted seven more in the second half of the campaign and ended as the club’s top goalscorer with eight goals in 28 games.
And then Aston Villa came in and signed him despite competition from other clubs.
“Villa were the ones who shifted up to sixth gear to make the deal happen,” said Pelzer. “They wanted him and were very serious and put all the efforts in to make it happen.”
