Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran looks set to make a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr following a bid reported to be £59 million, after three Premier League clubs were linked with a move for the Colombian.
West Ham United have had two bids turned down for Duran, with Chelsea and Arsenal both showing an interest in his signing as well as French giants Paris Saint-Germain. However, the Birmingham Mail is reporting that he has agreed personal terms with Al-Nassr.
Villa manager Unai Emery, speaking after Sunday’s draw with West Ham, stated that he wanted to keep Duran at the club and admitted that the speculation over his future has been a distraction.
Why is Duran considering a move?
Duran has featured in all but two of Villa’s Premier League matches so far this season, only missing the draw with Brighton and win over Leicester when he was suspended. However, only four of those appearances were starts.
It has been a similar story in the Champions League. Duran has featured in all seven of Villa’s matches in the competition but the win over Italian side Bologna was the only one in which he was in the starting lineup.
Overall, Duran has featured in 30 matches in all competitions but has only started seven as he has found stiff competition in the form of Ollie Watkins. It would perhaps then be understandable if he wanted to find regular starts elsewhere.
Why are clubs looking at Duran?
Despite finding opportunities from the start limited, Duran has certainly taken them when they have come. He has scored 12 goals in all competitions, with seven of them coming in the Premier League.
In September, he was voted as the club’s Player of the Month, his long-range strike against Everton at Villa Park winning both the club’s and the BBC Goal of the Month awards. It was the second of three successive occasions when he won Villa’s Player of the Month award.
Joining Familiar faces
Should Duran complete a move to Al-Nassr, he will be playing alongside a number of familiar faces. Chief among them is of course Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, but he is not the only former Premier League player currently at the club.
Former Manchester City defence Aymeric Laporte and ex-Liverpool and Southampton forward Sadio Mane are also currently on the books there along with six of the Saudi Arabia squad that competed at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Al-Nassr are currently fourth in the Saudi Pro League, one place and two points off qualification for the AFC Champions League, having been runners-up to Al-Hilal for the last two seasons. Their last trophy came in 2023 when they won the Arab Club Champions Cup.
Is there space for Duran in the squad?
Saudi Pro League rules state that clubs must have a maximum of ten foreign players in their squads. Of these eight can be of any age but two have to be Under-21 players. Duran is currently 21 years old and does not turn 22 until December.
Al-Nassr currently have two Under-21 players and seven foreign players over that age in their squad, so there is one space left in the squad which Duran would be able to fill should he complete the move.
Of course, there would certainly be question marks about the motivation behind somebody of the age and talent of Duran making the move to the Saudi Pro League, as there is with any player that moves there. But the prospect of linking up with the likes of Ronaldo and Mane is certainly an exciting one for anyone.