The former Aston Villa fan favourite has completed a loan move to Benfica from Al Nassr which will see him return to football once again.
The young talisman started his career at Envigado in Colombia. After scoring 10 goals in 49 games, he earned a move to Chicago Fire in the MLS.
After spending a season in America, he was signed by Villa for £14 million and quickly became one of the most entertaining strikers in the country. After a move to West Ham fell through just 18 months after being in the Midlands, Duran continued to perform at an alarming rate for defenders up against him.
Jhon Duran's Career Has Been Defined By Big Moves
Seven goals in 20 Premier League appearances and three in seven games in the Champions League earnt the young Colombian a big money move to Al Nassr in Saudi in January 2025.
The 22-year-old continued his fantastic form with 12 goals in 18 games in Saudi Arabia but he was loaned out to Fenerbahce for the 25-26 season.
Led by manager Jose Mourinho, Duran's form became human, scoring five times in 21 appearances his loan spell was cut short following Mourinho's sacking. Once again Duran was on the move, this time to Russian side Zenit. During his nine games for the Russian side, he scored just twice and has since seen his future become uncertain.
Benfica have picked up the Colombian on a season long loan, costing the Portuguese giants just £5.19 million with an option to sign him permanently for £25.5 million at the end of the season.
Al Nassr have accepted they won't be able to recoup the £71 million they brought him in for so are now forced to loan him out and accept any offer possible. Al Nassr are also sharing the salary with Benfica as per Fabrizio Romano.
Duran Shares His Excitement After Joining Benfica
“I’m very grateful to God, just as I said when I arrived. I’m happy! I still say that it’s the biggest club in Portugal. I’m very grateful to be here, I have very high expectations for my time here. I want to play well, give it my all, and become a champion, I want to work hard and help my team."
Duran expressed his expectations ahead of the season: "I have very high expectations for being here. I want to play well, give it my all, and become champion."
The striker told the Benfica fans: "I want to thank them for their support and for the messages they’ve left on my Instagram. I want to repay them for that on the field. I want to work hard to repay all the love they’ve shown me through their messages".
Marco Silva will be delighted to sign a player of his quality for such a small fee as they look to right the wrongs after a 3rd place league finish last season.
Duran is deadly in front of goal and if Silva can maximise his ability, Benfica stand a great chance to go far in the Europa League and Liga Portugal.
