Al-Nassr agree deal to sign Aston Villa star Jhon Duran - Ornstein

Tom Weber

Updated: 29 Jan 2025 14:23 CST
3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo, Jhon Duran, Al-Nassr — © IMAGO

Al-Nassr have reached an agreement to sign Jhon Duran, according to David Ornstein.

The biggest blockbuster transfer of the January transfer window is moving ever closer. Aston Villa, after insisting all window that Jhon Duran is not for sale, have now accepted a massive offer from Saudi giants Al-Nassr.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Riyadh-based club have been on a tour de force in the transfer market over the past 24-48 hours after selling star attacker Talisca to Fenerbahce.

Al-Nassr have been determined to replace the Brazilian with a household name and initially agreed a €60 million package with Bayer Leverkusen for Victor Boniface.

However, the Nigerian was only the club's second-choice option behind Duran, though because of Villa's stance, there was no guarantee of a successful outcome to the talks.

Al-Nassr reach Duran agreement

However, that all changed on Wednesday after fresh rounds of negotiations. Villa significantly softened their stance and have now agreed to sell Duran to Saudi Arabia for a guaranteed fee worth €77 million plus potential add-ons, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

The Colombian has already agreed a five-and-a-half-year deal and will travel to London on Thursday to complete his medical. Al-Nassr are trying to get the transfer over the line quickly as the Saudi window closes on January 31 as opposed to February 3 when the English period ends.

While negotiations with Al-Nassr were ongoing, Villa also received an offer from Arsenal for their other star striker, Ollie Watkins, reportedly worth around €72m.

However, due to a deal for Duran being close, this approach was swiftly rejected by the Birmingham club, which is likely to be gutting for the England international as playing for Arsenal is his dream.

It will be interesting to see if Villa dip into the market for a potential Duran replacement. They are said to be keen on Chelsea attacker Joao Felix.