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Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have officially announced their signing of Colombian striker Jhon Duran permanently from Aston Villa. The 21-year-old striker will now play for the Saudi giants, and the announcement video showed that he has taken the number nine shirt at the club.
Al-Nassr decided to sign Colombia international Duran after trying to land a number of other strikers throughout the transfer window. The signing of the former Aston Villa man was completed just hours before the closure of the January transfer window in the Saudi Pro League.
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Jhon Duran began his professional career at Envigado in his native Colombia before leaving for Chicago Fire in the MLS for £1.5 million aged just 17. He caught the eye of Aston Villa, who were happy to pay up to £18 million to sign the largely unknown striker from the MLS in January 2023.
Duran proved to be a hit at Villa Park and was coveted by a number of sides within a year, including the likes of Chelsea and West Ham. He signed a new contract with the club instead before joining Al-Nassr in a transfer that could reach £71 million this month.
Jhon Duran joins fellow ex-Premier League stars Sadio Mane, Angelo Gabriel, and Cristiano Ronaldo at the Riyadh-based club. The young striker appears set to make an immediate impact at the club. He hinted in his unveiling video that he will feature in their AFC Champions League game against Al-Wasl on Monday, February 3.
How can Al-Nassr pair Cristiano Ronaldo with Jhon Duran?
Al-Nassr have signed striker Jhon Duran for a club-record fee of an initial £64 million, a fee bettered only by Neymar's to Al-Hilal in Saudi football history. The arrival of the young striker will provide manager Stefano Pioli with a headache on how he can be best utilised.
An explosive left-footed striker, Duran is a terrific shooter and is quite accomplished in the air, judging by his goal catalog from his Aston Villa days. He is incapable of playing out wide, and this may cause a bit of a dilemma for Pioli, who has been known to use just one striker- Cristiano Ronaldo.
Duran managed 12 goals in 29 appearances, only seven of which were starts, for Villa, proving his capability in front of goal. The talented striker will significantly take the goalscoring load off Cristiano Ronaldo, effectively replacing Anderson Talisca. Pioli will hope to play Duran alongside his captain up top or have the young striker play in a slightly withdrawn role, similar to how Talisca was used.
