Athletic wrote about Jhon Duran's portrait: Captain Chaos

Athletic, a sports platform owned by the New York Times, one of the leading newspapers in the USA, wrote a detailed analysis of Colombian center forward Jhon Duran, who was loaned by Fenerbahçe for a year.

The US, England, Saudi Arabia, and now Türkiye… Those who see his resume might think John Duran is a footballer about to retire. But he's managed to fit all of this into his 21-year-old years.

Fenerbahçe is Duran's fourth club in the last two and a half years and his third in the last 10 months.

Duran signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract with English side Aston Villa last October. In January, he transferred to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr for €77 million.

Last week, he landed at Istanbul Airport and signed for Fenerbahçe a few days later.

According to The Atlantic's analysis, Jhon Duran's nascent career is already fraught with questions, as his transfer process is as complex as his character.

The player, who Aston Villa once thought could be the best striker in the world , is an enigmatic character.

Aston Villa was desperate to keep Duran at the club last season. However, the player's social media exploits were endless. For example, at one point, he suddenly deleted all of his Aston Villa posts.

He then made the West Ham symbol, the 'Irons' sign, during an Instagram live broadcast after his team rejected an offer from English side West Ham United.

Aston Villa ignored all this and embraced the player.

Furthermore, Duran received a raise and was given the number 9 jersey at the start of the 2024-25 season.

If he is mentally ready, he is expected to be sold for at least £100 million after a period of steady development.

Aston Villa's Spanish manager Unai Emery said of Duran, "He is a gem."

Aston Villa's General Manager of Professional Football, Monchi, said : "If there is one club that believes Duran can become one of the best strikers in the world, it is Aston Villa and that manager is Unai Emery."

His teammates were in awe of Duran's talents both in training and on the pitch, especially his winning goal against Everton in September 2024.

What. A. Strike. 🤤

Jhon Duran's long-range effort against Everton has won September's Guinness Goal of the Month award! #PLAwards | @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/vXs31jRuJZ

— Premier League (@premierleague) October 11, 2024

Duran's winning goal against Everton, September 14, 2024. Video: Premier League

However, Duran was ahead of 29-year-old veteran striker Ollie Watkins, so he was struggling to find a place in the starting eleven.

Duran still scored a total of 12 goals across all competitions, meaning he found the back of the net once every 87 minutes. But he was still largely raw and caused structural problems in Emery's footballing system.

Observers questioned how well Duran fitted into Villa's system when he was on the pitch, as he was often found to be unresponsive to tactical instructions off the ball and struggled to connect with the team.

Duran's promising development was hampered by his off-field indiscipline: he would arrive late to team meetings and sometimes lie to club doctors about being injured.

So much so that his teammate at Aston Villa, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, described Duran to the BBC as follows: “He could be one of the best strikers in the world, but he needs to stay grounded and work hard.”

Despite his lack of emotional connection with the team, Villa was unwilling to let Duran go. But he was determined to move to Saudi Arabia. After all, Duran, who had been penniless as a child, was often driven by money in his transfer decisions.

Duran, 21, bid farewell to the Premier League in January 2025 to move to Saudi Arabia, a country that attracts little international attention and has relatively little competition.

His new club was Al Nassr, where world star Cristiano Ronaldo also plays.

Duran maintained his fine form at Villa in Saudi Arabia, scoring twice against Al Fayha on his Saudi Pro League debut. However, a few days before that, some controversial news had surfaced.

JHON DURÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁN!JHON DURÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁN!PUSKAS QUE PARIU, JHON DURÁN! 😍⚽️O QUE FOI ISSO, JHON DURÁN? QUE NARRAÇÃO FOI ESSA, FEFUX? PUSKAS QUE PARIU!

🎙️ @fefuxribeiro | AHL 1×3 NAS | #SauditaNoGOAT pic.twitter.com/9djk0h9SUH

— Canal GOAT (@CanalGOATBR) February 13, 2025

Jhon Duran's goal against Al-Ahli on February 13, 2025. Video: Canal Goat

According to reports, Duran had moved from Riyadh to Bahrain and was traveling 80 minutes a day on a plane to train. Two reasons were given: Duran didn't want to live in Riyadh, and because he was unmarried, he wasn't allowed to live in the same house with his girlfriend under Islamic law.

Al-Nassr quickly denied these reports, calling them "ridiculous nonsense." They also explained that Duran loves Riyadh and that his home is very close to the club and stadium.

Although Duran has an outgoing personality, he is actually an actor who needs love and needs to be reminded frequently to keep his feet on the ground .

The Colombian striker, who scored 12 goals in 18 matches for Al Nassr, transferred to Fenerbahçe just six months into his five-year contract.

Villa fans nicknamed Duran "Captain Chaos" for his direct and chaotic style of play on the pitch. This nickname, of course, defined not only his playing style but also his entire footballing career.

Fenerbahçe's hope is to create a new Victor Osimhen, but it remains to be seen how Duran will perform under high pressure.