Benfica's Move for Duran: A Career Reset in Lisbon

Benfica are closing in on a deal for Colombian international Duran, a move that could offer the 22-year-old a badly needed reset and hand Marco Silva another powerful option in attack.

The forward is expected to join from Al-Nassr on loan, with the Saudi Pro League club prepared to shoulder the bulk of his sizeable wages to get the deal over the line, according to A Bola. For Benfica, it is a low‑risk punt on a player whose talent has never quite matched the turbulence of his recent career. For Duran, it looks like a lifeline.

From €77m statement signing to the exit door

Al-Nassr paid a staggering €77 million to prise Duran away from Villa in January 2025, tying him down to a contract worth around €20m a year until 2030. It was supposed to be a marquee move, the kind that announces a new era.

It never happened.

Across domestic and continental competitions, Duran managed just 18 appearances. No rhythm, no real run of games, no chance to build any sort of authority in the side. This week, Al-Nassr CEO Jose Semedo effectively drew a line under the experiment, giving the striker the green light to find a new club and revive a career that has stalled badly.

The solution, for all parties, lies at the Estadio da Luz.

Loans that went nowhere

The warning signs were already there before the Saudi adventure. Duran’s career had drifted through loan spells at Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg that never caught fire.

Turkey offered minutes but not momentum. Russia brought something worse: disciplinary problems that saw him frozen out of the Zenit first team altogether. Training-ground issues turned into matchday absences, and the forward’s reputation began to fray.

The consequences reached all the way back to Colombia. With no consistent club football behind him, Duran missed the cut for Colombia’s 2026 World Cup squad. Seventeen caps, plenty of promise, but no ticket to the biggest stage.

For a player once billed as a cornerstone of the national team’s future, that omission hurt.

Lisbon as a fresh stage

Now comes a different kind of pressure. Duran is scheduled to arrive in Lisbon in the coming days for his medical, after which he will officially link up with Marco Silva’s squad. There will be no gentle easing-in period: the plan is to throw him straight into pre-season work, to get him up to speed with Benfica’s tactical demands as quickly as possible.

Silva wants intensity from his forwards, movement without the ball, and a ruthless edge in the box. If Duran buys into that, he has the tools to thrive in Portugal. If he doesn’t, this could be another short chapter in a career already littered with false starts.

Benfica’s bet on upside

For Benfica, the equation is clear. They are bracing for a gruelling season on multiple fronts, with domestic honours on the line and the new Champions League league phase adding extra weight to every fixture. The frontline needs depth, variety and goals.

Duran offers all three on paper: international experience, physical presence, and the hunger of a player who knows he is running out of chances at the elite level. With Al-Nassr covering most of his salary, Benfica get a potentially high-impact forward without tearing up their wage structure.

The club has made a habit of turning rough edges into polished assets. The question now is whether Duran is the next in that line – or whether Lisbon is his last big audition at the top.