4 hours ago
2
Former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran is reportedly set to leave Al-Nassr on loan.
The 21-year-old joined the Saudi Pro League club late in January, with Villa cashing in £64.5million for a player who had netted 20 goals in the previous 18 months.
Duran, who has since scored 12 goals in 18 games for Al-Nassr, has now agreed to join Fenerbahce on a season-long loan, according to Foot Mercato.
The French publication claims that Fenerbahce have agreed to offer Duran an enormous salary in excess of what Al-Nassr have been paying him.
If that is true then Duran will likely be among the highest-paid players in European football next season.
As reported by Capology, Duran signed a five-and-a-half year contract worth slightly more than £335,000 per week when he signed for Al Nassr in January.
Jhon Duran looks set to join Turkish club Fenerbahce on a season-long loan from Al-Nassr
Duran has only been an Al-Nassr player since January 31 but he has already earned a fortune
Duran has just completed his 21st week as an Al-Nassr player, meaning he is so far estimated to have earned well in excess of £7m in Riyadh.
That is around four and a half times what he would have banked had he remained at Villa on his previous weekly wage in the region of £75,000.
Duran played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as Al-Nassr ended the 2024-25 season third in the Saudi Pro League, 13 points behind champions Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo's first Al-Nassr contract was due to expire at the end of this month, but he recently penned a new deal tying him to the club for a further two years.
That deal is said to be worth a staggering £488,000 per day.
Al-Nassr — backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which also owns Newcastle United — are one of the richest clubs in world football.
Nevertheless, it has been suggested that Duran's move to Fenerbahce could be part of a cost-cutting exercise to help fund Ronaldo's remarkable new salary.
Among Duran's team-mates during his first season with Al-Nassr was Cristiano Ronaldo, 40
Duran will soon link up with Jose Mourinho if his proposed move to Fenerbahce goes through
Fenerbahce finished second in the Turkish Super Lig last season for the fourth year in a row.
The Istanbul outfit have been managed by Jose Mourinho since last June when the former Chelsea, Man United and Real Madrid boss replaced Ismail Kartal.
Duran will add firepower to an attack that scored 128 goals in 56 matches in Mourinho's first season.
Thirty of those goals came courtesy of Morocco star Youssef En-Nesyri following his arrival from Sevilla last summer.
