A week after the January transfer window slammed shut in a Premier League context, a former West Ham United target in Jhon Duran landed a new club.
Striker Duran has consistently been linked with West Ham United and that proved to be the case once again during the 2026 January transfer window.
Duran has had a rather strange time of things in recent years. He shot to fame at Aston Villa with some brilliant goals and seemed tipped for the top at one point.
Here’s my hot take….
Doing a great job at Old Trafford – but there’s no way he’d have been a better fit to get us out of this mess than Nuno…
A graphic asking fans to 'prove us wrong' on the argument that Michael Carrick would do a worse job than Nuno Espirito Santo at West Ham.
Credit: Getty Images/Carl Recine
However, the Colombia international moved to Saudi Arabia in January 2025, though his time at Al-Nassr did not work out.
The 22-year-old then joined Fenerbahce on loan in July but lasted only a few months there.
Now, he’s moved to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg.
Zenit manager admits that Jhon Duran’s career isn’t going to plan
Duran was linked with Zenit St Petersburg just as his time in Turkey was drawing to a close.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
On Monday, that move was confirmed and reporters quickly interviewed manager Sergei Semak.
He admitted that while Duran was clearly a talented player, things have not been working out for him since he left Aston Villa.
Speaking to Zenit’s official website, he said: “We all know that he’s a top quality player, but things haven’t been going as well for him as he’d probably like.
John Carew wants to be a villain in a James Bond film – which other ex-Hammers would you cast into a movie role and why? 😂
Got to be a role for Tomas Repka somewhere! 🎥
John Carew playing for West Ham against Middlesbrough in 2012.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
“We’re expecting him to be motivated to go to the World Cup with Colombia and compete with John Cordoba for a spot in the starting XI. We’ll be looking for him to be useful for us, and we’ve no doubt in his quality.”
It’s the sixth country Duran has played in already following spells in Colombia, the United States, England, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Why Jhon Duran’s move to West Ham United could still happen
As per Fabrizio Romano, Duran is only in Russia on loan until the end of the season and there is no option to buy him from Al-Nassr.
So then, it will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season.
A move to West Ham in January always seemed somewhat unlikely. The Hammers aren’t certain to stay up this season and signed two other strikers anyway.
Jhon Duran celebrates during Al Okhdood v Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League
Photo by Al Nassr FC/Al Nassr FC via Getty Images
However, last month, leading transfer reporter Ben Jacobs suggested that West Ham could look to sign Duran in the summer of 2026.
Clearly, that will surely depend on them staying up, but he did float the idea of the Colombia star potentially replacing Callum Wilson.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Jacobs said: “And there’s obviously a few Premier League clubs watching very closely. West Ham, for example, had made an actual bid for Jhon Duran before he went to Saudi Arabia, but Taty Castellanos and Pablo have now arrived as well.
“But if, for example, Callum Wilson went during the summer, they might be back, but I doubt it’s going to be something that we’re talking about during the winter.”
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox