Jhon Duran is set to join a sixth different club of his career, only 13 months on from his Aston Villa departure.placeholder image
Jhon Duran is set to join a sixth different club of his career, only 13 months on from his Aston Villa departure. | Middle East Images/AFP via Getty
Where former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran is off to next following links to Tottenham Hotspur and LOSC Lille.
Jhon Duran’s bold and unique character was clear for all to see during his time at Aston Villa, but even the tempestuous Colombian is outdoing himself at this point as he closes in on a transfer to a SIXTH different country.
Just 13 months after leaving Villa for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in a mega £67 million deal and only six months after he joined Fenerbahce on a controversial loan, Duran is on the move yet again. The centre-forward is seemingly on a mission to trek the world as he’s on track to tick off a sixth different league – all by the tender age of 22.
Villa, who sold Duran for big bucks despite an initial reluctance to let him go, will be cackling to themselves. Unai Emery had to put a lot of hard work into taming Duran but was eventually relieved of those duties as Villa raked in a huge profit, helping them hugely in complying with PSR.
Jhon Duran closes in on bold new transfer
In the latest instalment on Duran’s bizarre early career, Fabrizio Romano reports the striker is set to join Russian club Zenit St Petersburg on loan for the rest of the 2025/26 campaign. The Italian journalist has given the deal the famous ‘here we go’ stamp of approval, confirming Duran will head to Zenit on a short-term move without an option to buy.
Romano reported a few days ago that Tottenham Hotspur had turned down the sensational opportunity to loan in Duran, instead keeping the faith in Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani. Meanwhile, there were strong links to French Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille, however Romano says Duran was never close to going there.
Instead, Duran leaves Al-Nassr for Zenit, where he will be hoping to leave his mark. If Duran is confirmed as a Zenit player, he will have played in Russia, Turkey (Fenerbahce), Saudi Arabia (Al-Nassr), England (Villa), the United States (Chicago Fire) and Colombia (Envigado FC). Not only is that six countries, but it’s also three countries. Four, if you count Russia as Asia.
Is Duran really that good?
Many eyebrows were raised when Al-Nassr forked out £64 million plus bonuses to sign Duran. Is he really worth that kind of money? Well, based on his final season at Villa, there was certainly a huge player in there as Duran scored nine goals in 806 minutes of football, including stunners against Everton, Bayern Munich and West Ham United.
But the problem with Duran, as many will have either experienced or witnessed by now, is his unpredictability. The striker’s record of transfers speaks for itself, really. He just can’t seem to settle down, no matter where he goes. Even Emery, who is brilliant at working with difficult characters, couldn’t quite get a grip on Duran.
Who knows, maybe Duran will eventually calm himself down and fulfil his huge potential. But, at this early point in his career, there are certainly big question marks over whether he can.
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