Jhon Duran close to completing Al-Nassr move from Aston Villa
2025-01-30
Category: sports

Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran is close to completing a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, sources have confirmed to BBC Sport.A fee has been agreed between the two clubs and Duran - who was on the bench for Villa's 4-2 win over Celtic on Wednesday night - was undergoing a medical on Thursday.A price of Â£65m for the 21-year-old Colombian has been reported, although not verified by BBC Sport. A senior Saudi Pro League source said Duran will fly to Saudi Arabia on Saturday if the medical goes well.Sources told BBC Sport that Duran was saying his goodbyes to staff and colleagues at Villa Park on Wednesday night after the deal progressed.A Saudi delegation has been stationed in London this week negotiating the deal.Aston Villa have been approached for comment.Villa manager Unai Emery was asked post-match on Wednesday about the future of Duran as well as striker Ollie Watkins, amid a rejected bid from Arsenal.On Duran, Emery said: "If he is leaving it's because he wants [to]. I told you last week I wanted him here."We are different people, different objectives."The club is working and we have to be intelligent in the market. "Our objective here is to keep our structure because we want to keep the level high, and maybe we have to sell some players - and I don't know exactly until everything is done whether or not Jhon Duran is leaving - but if he does, it'll be good news for us because it's good money."Duran joined Villa from Chicago Fire for Â£18m in January 2023 but is now expected to leave in a deal reportedly worth more than Â£64.4m plus add-ons. Al-Nassr are fourth in the Saudi Pro League table.
In the summer Duran courted controversy. He had reportedly agreed personal terms with West Ham and in a live social media video he crossed his arms to imitate West Ham's Irons logo.Earlier this month, West Ham reportedly had a Â£57m bid for Duran rejected by Villa., externalDuran has scored 12 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions this season, but manger Unai Emery has preferred England's Watkins as his first-choice striker. Villa turned down an approach from Arsenal for Watkins, 29, in the build-up to their game against Scottish champions Celtic. After a strong start to the campaign, including scoring the winner in three Premier League matches as a substitute, Duran signed a contract extension at Villa Park until 2030 in October. 