Ex-Villa striker Duran signs for sixth club aged 22

Former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has joined the sixth club of his career at the age of just 22.

The Colombia forward has cancelled his loan move at Turkish giants Fenerbahce and signed for Russian side Zenit St Petersburg on temporary deal.

It completes a rollercoaster period of just over 12 months for Duran, who made a £71m move to Al-Nassr from Villa in January 2025 and played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

But after just six months and eight goals in 13 appearances as Al-Nassr finished third in the Saudi Pro League, he was on the move to Fenerbahce on loan in the summer.

He only played 10 league games for Fenerbahce, but he did help them win the Turkish Super Cup last month in a final against rivals Galatasaray.

So why has Duran moved to the relative backwaters of football in Russia?

Duran began his career with Envigado in his homeland before Chicago Fire in the United States became his second club aged 18.

After a year in Major League Soccer he was signed by club number three, Villa, in January 2023 for about £14m.

He scored Villa's goal of the season against Crystal Palace in the 2023-24 season and quickly became a fan favourite with his direct style.

He scored twice as Villa snatched a 3-3 draw in the last home game of that season against Liverpool, helping Villa to qualify for the Champions League.

However, he courted a move to West Ham that summer, angering Villa fans by doing an 'irons' pose on his social media before that transfer fell through.

At the start of the 2024-25 season, with fans unsure over his commitment, he scored the winning goal against West Ham and indicated in his celebration he wanted to stay at Villa.

In October 2024, he scored the winning goal against Bayern Munich on Villa's return to Europe's elite competition with a stunning strike from outside the penalty area.

Despite his performances on the pitch, there were persistent rumours that Duran was unsettled behind the scenes.

Some issues surrounded how Villa boss Unai Emery could accommodate both Duran and Ollie Watkins, the club's record goalscorer in the Premier League era, in the same side.

His team-mate at Villa, Morgan Rogers, described Duran as "the most chilled, relaxed person I've ever met".

"He's a different animal when he's playing," Rogers added.

Emery was furious when Duran was sent off against Newcastle on Boxing Day in 2024, although most of his rage was aimed at the VAR decision, and by the end of January he was sold to club number four, Al-Nassr.

Emery described the move as "good news for us - they are paying good money".

Duran moved to Al-Nassr at a time when the Saudi Pro League was investing huge sums in star players from Europe.

He joined a team led by Ronaldo that also featured stellar names including former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.

His record was good in Saudi Arabia, but there were reports that he did not settle in the country and was living in neighbouring Bahrain, some 300 miles from Riyadh where Al-Nassr are based.

When he moved to his fifth club, Fenerbahce, in the summer it looked like a fresh start for him, but manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in August less than a month after Duran made his debut.

Duran missed some of the season with injury and only scored three league goals.

In a match against former side Villa last month in the Europa League, he was marked out of the game by Tyrone Mings and unable to make any impact.

A move to his sixth club, Zenit - who are second in the Russian Super League - will give Duran hope of another fresh start.

But he will be playing in a time where, despite large crowds at Zenit matches, clubs from Russia are banned from European competitions.

Shortly after he moved to Saudi Arabia, Duran posted a photo of himself on Instagram riding a three-wheeled motorbike with the caption: "Don't try to please everybody - that ain't good."

He has shown so far in his career that he will continue to follow his own path.