Courtesy: Al-Nassr
Jhon Duran, the Colombian striker, has joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr for a deal worth up to £71 million after leaving Aston Villa in the ongoing transfer window, on Friday January 31. With that, the 21-year-old, who has been one of the the shining lights of Aston Villa’s current season in the domestic and European competitions will be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, his new teammates at Al-Nassr next month.
Notably, Jhon Duran was named on the substitute’s bench by Aston Villa for their previous match, a UEFA Champions League (UCL) clash against Celtic at Villa Park, which they won with a 4-2 margin. While the young striker wasn’t required by manager Unai Emery to come off the substitute’s bench, the aforementioned result helped the club book their spot in the last 16 of the European competition.
Aston Villa wished all the best in the next step of his professional career
In their latest post in regards to Jhon Duran, Aston Villa wished the Colombian striker “all the best in the next step of his professional career.” Notably, Duran had joined Villa from Chicago Fire for £18 million in January 2023, and since then, he scored 20 goals in 78 appearances for the club, including 12 goals in 29 games for Villa this season, but at the same time, he was linked with moves away to other clubs.
With the departure of Jhon Duran from Aston Villa, the club has only one recognised striker Ollie Watkins available to them, and Arsenal have reportedly approached them to sign him. Unai Emery was quoted as saying about the matter, as per BBC Sport, “I don't want [to sell]. It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad. Every player can be in the market if it is good for the player and the club. To get this deal we are going to be demanding. Watkins is our striker.”
