Benfica Targets Duran on Loan from Al-Nassr
Benfica are closing in on a high‑stakes reclamation project. Colombian international forward Duran is set to arrive at Estadio da Luz on loan from Al-Nassr, a deal that carries both financial intrigue and sporting risk for all involved.
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, the 22-year-old will join on a temporary move with the Saudi Pro League club agreeing to shoulder the bulk of his sizeable wages. For Benfica, it is the chance to add a powerful, international-level striker without tearing up their wage structure. For Al-Nassr, it is a reluctant admission that a blockbuster signing has stalled badly.
A €77 million gamble that never lit up
Al-Nassr paid €77 million to prise Duran away from Aston Villa in January 2025, handing him a contract reportedly worth around €20 million per year until 2030. It was the sort of fee and salary package reserved for a centrepiece signing, a forward expected to dominate both domestically and in Asia.
It never happened.
Across domestic and continental competitions, Duran managed just 18 appearances. No rhythm, no sustained run, no sense that he had truly arrived. The project drifted, and so did his career.
This week, Al-Nassr CEO Jose Semedo gave the green light for the Colombian to find a new club, effectively drawing a line under the first chapter of a move that promised far more than it delivered. The solution: a European reset, with Benfica stepping into the frame.
A career stuck in reverse
The struggles in Saudi Arabia followed a difficult sequence of loans. Before the Portuguese deal emerged, Duran had already tried to reboot his career at Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg. Neither stint worked.
In Turkey, he never truly imposed himself. In Russia, his situation deteriorated further. Disciplinary issues saw him frozen out of the first-team squad at Zenit, a damaging episode that left him short of minutes, confidence, and visibility at exactly the wrong time.
The cost was brutal. When Colombia named their squad for the 2026 World Cup, Duran was not on the list. A forward with 17 caps for his country watched from afar as others seized the stage he once seemed destined to grace.
Lisbon lifeline
Now comes a different backdrop. Lisbon. A historic club. A demanding crowd. And a coach in Marco Silva who has built his reputation on structured, aggressive football.
Duran is scheduled to arrive in the Portuguese capital in the coming days to undergo his medical. Once he signs, there will be no gentle easing-in period. The plan is for him to be immediately folded into Benfica’s pre-season work, thrown straight into the tactical drills and physical sessions that define Silva’s approach.
Benfica see a talented forward whose career has veered off course, but not beyond repair. A player still only 22, with top-level experience and the physical tools to trouble defenders in any league, now dropped into a system that prizes intensity, movement, and quick combinations in the final third.
A frontline under pressure to deliver
The timing is no coincidence. Benfica are bracing for a heavy schedule, with a domestic title race to contest and the new Champions League league phase demanding depth, flexibility, and goals from multiple sources.
Duran’s arrival is expected to thicken the options up front, offering a different profile and the possibility of rotation without a dramatic drop in quality. If he adapts quickly, he could become a central figure in a side that will be asked to play high-pressure matches every few days.
For Benfica, this is a calculated swing at upside. For Al-Nassr, it is a costly reset on a marquee investment. For Duran, it is something else entirely: a last, sharp reminder that at 22, with his reputation on the line and his national-team place already lost once, there may not be many more chances this big.
