Less than two years ago, Jhon Duran was one of the Premier League‘s most exciting talents.
And after just one and a half seasons in England, the 21-year-old was flying high – with seven league goals in the first half of the 2024-25 campaign helping fire Aston Villa to third place by Boxing Day.
But just over a month later he was sold to Al Nassr for £71m on deadline day. He is now stuck on the bench on loan at Benfica – his fourth club since he left England and the seventh of his career at the age of just 22.
He has experienced a steep fall-off in form and appears bereft of motivation since his move to Saudi. And at the weekend, his former Fenerbahce team-mate Fred gave an insight into his troubles in a recent podcast appearance.
The former Manchester United midfielder – who played with Duran in Turkey during the striker’s first loan spell away from Al Nassr – said: ‘Jhon Duran didn’t really care about anything. Come on Duran, let’s train, let’s run a bit over there, I’d say. “Bro, I’m already rich. I don’t need to run,” he’d say then he’d go to the medical department and slack off.
‘When he went to Zenit, I said, now you’re going to make even more money. “Bro, the more the better, he’d say”. At Fenerbahce, at least in the beginning he was showing up for training, then he completely quit.’
Duran scored 20 goals in two full seasons at Villa Park before his move to Al Nassr
Fred spoke out recently on Duran’s attitude and apparent obsession with his bank account
A lifestyle of private jets has Duran not motivated to run in training, team-mates say
Duran’s coach at Fenerbahce, Jose Mourinho, also took a dim view of the Colombian’s behaviour. Early in his spell he publicly condemned the striker for his attitude and punctuality during his short stint in Turkey, saying: ‘There are clear rules here, and those who do not comply with them will face consequences.’
Fred appeared to provide some context for Duran’s training habits and apparent lack of care, suggesting that he believed he had made enough money already. ‘Sometimes when we talked, he’d say, I’ve already saved the lives of me, my family, and three generations,’ added the Brazilian.
If the spell at Fenerbahce was underwhelming, yielding five goals in 21 matches, things did not improve when he moved on in the middle of that season.
Sent to Zenit St Petersburg in February, his spell there did not last long. After just one goal, one start and a measly six league appearances for the Russian club he was granted a ‘leave of absence’ in May.
A Zenit statement read: ‘The club management and the Colombian striker have agreed on a leave of absence from the club due to personal circumstances. Details of his return date will be announced in the near future.’
That date never came, and Duran simply moved onto Benfica in July. He opened his account with a goal in Europa League qualifying against Hearts the following month but has scored just one more since.
Duran’s plight is a far cry from what we saw as recently as 2024. Barely two years ago Duran had won Premier League goal of the month for his long-range thunderbolt at home to Everton, scored a Champions League winner against Bayern Munich, won Aston Villa’s player of the month and was a target for Chelsea and West Ham.
Duran was like a torpedo into Premier League backlines when he arrived with his pace, strength and trigger-happy nature reminding teams and fans of a more old-school No9 profile.
At just 22, Duran is not short of cash and regularly shows off his spending on Instagram
Duran is now plying his trade in Portugal with Benfica, but has scored just twice so far
Team-mate John McGinn suggested Duran was ‘a bit nuts’ and ‘a nightmare’
But perhaps there were warning signs even then. Quotes from Villa skipper John McGinn, for one, suggest that Duran was always a loose cannon.
Speaking in 2024, McGinn said: ‘Big Jhon, he’s a bit nuts. He’s a nightmare sometimes to have in your team. But he has moments of quality, we need to try and keep his feet on the ground the next couple of days… Some days you think what a good boy, some days you think come on big man have a bit more respect.’
Aston Villa coach Unai Emery echoed McGinn’s concerns when managing Duran saying: ‘He is young, he has big potential… But as a person and as a professional, he needs to learn, to work hard every day, and to respect his team-mates.’
Now at his fifth club in less than two years, Duran is floundering and looking a shadow of the player we saw at Villa.
His contract with Al Nassr runs to 2030. At 22, time is on his side, but it remains to be seen if he can ever find the stellar form we saw glimpses of just two seasons ago.
