Jhon Duran has joined Benfica on a season-long loan from Al-Nassr, making the 22-year-old Colombian’s seventh club of a career that has already taken him across five continents. The Portuguese giants will pay a £5.19m loan fee, with an option to buy for £25.5m at the end of the 2026-27 season. “I am happy! I continue to say that it is the biggest club in Portugal. I am very grateful to be here,” Duran said. “I have very high expectations of being here. I want to play well, give my all and become champion.”
Duran began at Envigado in 2019, moved to Chicago Fire, then Aston Villa for £14m in January 2023. A move to West Ham collapsed in summer 2024, but after scoring a famous Champions League winner against Bayern Munich, he was sold to Al-Nassr for £71m in January 2025. Eight goals in 13 games in Saudi Arabia preceded a loan to Fenerbahce, where Jose Mourinho was sacked less than a month after Duran’s debut. The loan was cancelled in February 2026 and he joined Zenit St Petersburg, scoring three times in nine appearances. Now he lands at Benfica – his seventh club in the seventh country.
“Jhon Duran joins Benfica on loan, his seventh club at 22, as Aston Villa sign Johan Manzambi for £50m.”
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have ushered in a new era by breaking their transfer record to sign Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi from Freiburg in a deal worth more than £50m. Villa, who ended a 30-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League in May, snatched the 20-year-old from under Newcastle’s nose last week. Villa needed midfield reinforcements after Youri Tielemans joined Manchester United for £35m and Amadou Onana was ruled out with a knee injury until next year. They are also set to seal a £38m move for Wolves’ Joao Gomes, but Manzambi represents the start of something different.
Manzambi had been on Villa’s watchlist since last season and was coveted by more than half the Premier League. A knee injury that ruled him out of Switzerland’s World Cup last-16 win over Colombia and quarter-final defeat by Argentina gave him time to decide his future amid Newcastle’s interest. His versatility – especially with Onana’s serious knee injury – makes him even more important. Last term, Manzambi, who won Europa League young player of the season, ranked first in the Bundesliga for 10-plus metre progressive carries (116), shot-ending carries (13), and fouls won (78). He was the most fouled player in the division and second for total take-ons (71), opposition half take-ons (52), and total carry progress (2,476 metres). The calculated risk to make him Villa’s record signing is seen as one worth taking.