Benfica Nears Deal for Duran as Al-Nassr Accepts €77M Gamble

Benfica are closing in on a deal for Colombian forward Duran, with the Portuguese club set to take the 22-year-old on loan from Al-Nassr in a move that could relaunch a career that has stalled at alarming speed.

The agreement, reported in Portugal by A Bola, hinges on Al-Nassr’s willingness to shoulder the bulk of the striker’s sizeable salary. The Saudi club, who paid a staggering €77 million to prise him away from Villa in January 2025 and handed him a contract worth around €20m a year until 2030, are now effectively subsidising his escape route.

It is a climbdown that underlines how badly the move to Saudi Arabia has gone.

A career stuck in neutral

Duran arrived at Al-Nassr as a statement signing, a marquee attacking talent expected to dominate in the Saudi Pro League and make his mark in continental competition. Instead, his time there has fizzled: just 18 appearances across all tournaments, no sustained rhythm, no real sense of belonging.

This week, Al-Nassr CEO Jose Semedo gave the formal green light for the player to find a new club. The message was clear: it is time to go and play, somewhere else, anywhere else, before the promise fades completely.

Benfica have stepped into that void.

From false starts to a fresh stage

The Colombian international, capped 17 times, has already burned through two loan spells since leaving Europe. At Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg he never truly settled, never imposed himself. In Russia, disciplinary issues compounded the on-pitch frustrations and led to him being frozen out of the first-team picture altogether.

That lack of continuity and minutes carried a heavy price. When Colombia named their squad for the 2026 World Cup, Duran’s name was missing. For a player once projected as a long-term pillar of the national side, it was a brutal reality check.

Lisbon now offers something different: structure, stability, and a club with a proven track record of rehabilitating talented but wayward careers.

Benfica’s bet

Duran is expected to arrive in Lisbon in the coming days to undergo his medical before joining Marco Silva’s squad. There will be no easing-in period. The plan is to drop him straight into pre-season training and immerse him in Benfica’s tactical demands from day one.

Silva wants intensity from his forwards, aggression without the ball and clarity in the final third. If Duran adapts quickly, he gives Benfica something they crave for the coming season: depth and variety in a frontline that must cope with the grind of domestic competition and the expanded Champions League league phase.

For Benfica, the risk is manageable. It is a loan, with Al-Nassr covering the majority of his salary. For Duran, the stakes are far higher. This is not just another move; it feels like a crossroads.

A giant of Portugal is offering him a platform, a full stadium, and a season that will be played under the harshest of spotlights. The question now is simple: does he still have the edge to turn a rescue mission into a resurgence?