Jhon Durán — remember him? Of course you do. It’s a tale West Ham fans are unlikely to forget in a hurry, after a botched Hammers transfer attempt saw him score against us in the opening game of last season.
The Colombian striker then went on a sensational scoring run which saw Paris Saint-Germain fail with a £75 million bid, only for that offer to be blown out of the water by an even bigger one from Saudi Arabia.
At the time, it looked as though West Ham had missed out big time on a player who appeared to have the footballing world at his feet. Durán was on the cusp of joining the Hammers and even felt bold enough to flash the crossed Hammers sign on Instagram, convinced he’d never return to Aston Villa.
As it turned out, the transfer collapsed over a paltry £2 million when West Ham refused to match Villa’s £38 million asking price. The rest, as they say, is history — because the Hammers instead went on to sign Niclas Füllkrug in a £27 million deal.
Durán Becomes Football’s Latest Nomad
However, any feeling that West Ham truly missed out may now be evaporating.
Durán appears to have become something of a footballing nomad and is nowhere close to justifying his lofty transfer fee.
He is set for yet another change of scenery after agreeing a loan move to Russian heavyweights Zenit Saint Petersburg.
The striker departs Fenerbahçe, where he had been spending the season on loan from parent club Al Nassr.
It marks Durán’s third club move since leaving Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia in January 2025.
After signing a five-and-a-half-year contract with Al Nassr, the Colombian forward lasted just six months before heading to Turkey. Now another temporary transfer takes him to Russia, continuing a remarkable run of rapid-fire moves.
It’s easy to argue that the Hammers may have dodged a bullet here — especially considering West Ham have already lost the best part of £25m on the Füllkrug signing. And who’s to say it wouldn’t have been us banking a rapid £80m Saudi payday had Durán arrived in east London?
I guess we’ll never know.
But a striker once labelled the next Kylian Mbappé may yet turn out to be the next Dele Alli.
Very rich nomad.
He couldn’t settle in Saudi because he wasn’t allowed to live there with his girlfriend under Saudi law and was flying in from other Arab country the name escapes me and he went into a mental meltdown we didn’t miss a bullet we lost a great chance to possibly still be a premier club next season all for the sake of Sullivans lake of foresight
I would have him at moment’s notice! He would be perfect for the centre forward role with Summerville and Bowen either side and castellanos in the diamond. We could probably pick him up for £35m where else could you get such quality?
He had a reputation of being disruptive in a telam environment. Glad we didn’t sign him at the time. Given he was Steidten’s first choice and Fulkrug was his second, it says enough to me about his ability to identify quality team players …….ie he isn’t very good it.
Or, the next – or previous – Niklas Fullkrug !