Jhon Duran ‘to return to Premier League’ after Aston Villa exit
Aston Villa and Jhon Duran were always going to struggle to reject the lucrative “retirement home” offer from Al-Nassr, according to Ian Darke.
The TV commentator, speaking exclusively to Villa News, has confessed the 21-year-old is “very young” to be leaving the Premier League and Champions League behind for the Saudi Pro League, but acknowledged his presence bolsters the strength of the league.
Duran completed a move worth well over £64million on Friday (1 February), where he will now play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic among others in the Middle East.
“He seems very young to be going to a league that some people would regard as a bit of a retirement home and not a serious league, not to be too disparaging about it,” Darke admitted.
“He obviously finds the money too good to turn down, and for Aston Villa as well. With Duran, he’s 21, he still has time to be there for a couple of years and top up his bank balance, and then come back to the Premier League further down the line.
“It’s a feather in the cap of the Saudi Pro League, for sure. They get players like that who are big current stars to go and play there.”
Aston Villa frontman Duran becomes latest Saudi marquee
Duran is the latest in an increasingly long list of players to have made the leap to Saudi Arabia in the past two years.
Moussa Diaby was another who departed Villa Park last summer for the SPL, joining an Al-Ittihad side who boast the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho.
The entertaining maverick Colombian could well be back in Europe or even the Premier League one day, and it will be interesting to see how he develops further during his lucrative new chapter.
In other Aston Villa news, Bryan King believes Duran will now be earning “as much as Erling Haaland”.
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