Jhon Duran has completed a loan move to Benfica, making the Portuguese club the seventh of his career at just 22 years old. The Colombia international arrives having had recent spells at Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg, where he scored three goals in nine appearances.
Benfica are paying a loan fee of £5.19m, with the option to sign Duran permanently for £25.5m at the end of the 2026-27 season. The striker wasted little time expressing his enthusiasm for the move. “I am happy! I continue to say that it is the biggest club in Portugal. I am very grateful to be here,” he said. “I have very high expectations of being here. I want to play well, give my all and become champion.”
Duran’s career has taken him across the globe at a remarkable pace. He began professionally with Colombian side Envigado in 2019 before moving to MLS club Chicago Fire in 2022. A £14m switch to Aston Villa followed in January 2023, where he became a fan favourite — most memorably scoring a famous winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. A proposed move to West Ham in the summer of 2024 fell through before Villa sold him to Al-Nassr for £71m in January 2025.
Despite scoring eight goals in 13 games in Saudi Arabia, Duran’s time at Al-Nassr lasted only half a season. He moved to Fenerbahce on loan, but the spell unravelled quickly when manager Jose Mourinho was sacked less than a month after his debut. The loan was cancelled in February 2026, sending Duran to Zenit St Petersburg, where he added three more goals before this latest move materialised.
Benfica now represent Duran’s seventh club in his seventh different country — a remarkable footballing journey for a player still only 22 years old.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
