Jhon Duran Transfer

Ranit Paul

Jhon Duran Bids Adieu to Fantasy Football before Double Gameweek 24 — Writing the ‘Obituary’ of an FPL Star that Didn’t Become

Aston Villa, Aston Villa Transfer News, FPL, FPL Forwards, Jhon Duran

Life is full of surprises. So is football. And how could FPL be far behind? You never know what happens next. At times, things change faster than the speed of our thoughts. And maybe light as well. Otherwise, who could have thought that after a comet-like rise in the FPL sky, even for a brief period, Jhon Duran would be taking a permanent leave from fantasy football and that too, in the middle of the season?

It’s that time of the year when we don’t expect too many movements in the market but some transfer deals shake things upside down. The repercussions can be felt in fantasy communities, changing the diaspora, ethos, and equations of the FPL landscape. Al Nassr’s €77m(£64.5m) coup of Jhon Duran in the late hours of the winter transfer window is certainly one such move.   

Duran used to be a fringe player in the Villa setup, until the beginning of the Fantasy Premier League 2024-25 season. He managed only three starts in the last campaign but showed considerable promise with 5 goals and an assist from just 461 minutes. 

When the ongoing season kick-started, he continued to capitalise on the limited chances and in no time became a ‘super sub’ for Villa as well as a crazy asset in FPL. In the first five games, he scored on four occasions while coming from the bench. Going into gameweek 5, his tally stood at 25pts from 5 matches with all being cameo appearances.

However, Ollie Watkins(£8.9m) who now resurfaces as an exciting FPL asset once again, was the undisputed no.9 at Villa after a breakout season last time. And Emery continued to use Duran as a late roll of the dice in almost every match. The move paid huge dividends to Villa and the FPL owners who backed him. 

His budget price-point, which now happens to be £5.8m, made him a sought-after differential among fantasy managers. Jhon Duran let all hell break loose when he struck the winner against Bayern Munich in UCL at Villa Park, in one of the most memorable nights for Aston Villa in European football. Next morning, he was in the headlines.  

Jhon Duran Transfer News
Jhon Duran scored an absolute stunner against Bayern Munich to hand Aston Villa one of its all-time great victories in UCL (Image Courtesy: Sky Sports)

It was then his suitors started to transcend beyond FPL and scouts from some of the biggest clubs in Europe were entrusted with the responsibility of tracking him. Life changed for Duran overnight, for good. His stock started to rise in FPL. 

On the other hand, Duran’s sudden rise overlapped with Watkins losing sharpness and composure. It initiated the debate around the rightful heir of Villa’s no.9 throne. Then the unthinkable happened in FPL. The erstwhile ‘super sub’ dislodged Ollie Watkins from the playing XI and started ahead of him in gameweek 15. It marked Jhon Duran’s first start of the season in PL and he made it memorable by scoring the solitary goal of that evening. 

There was even more chaos in the following gameweeks. Duran continued to bench Watkins and score decisive goals. He made his name in the scoresheet in Emery’s shock win against Manchester City too. FPL managers started to jump in as Duran’s tally rose to 20pts in three consecutive games, highlighting another purple patch for the Colombian. 

But FPL has its own way of disrupting the equilibrium. You spot a status quo and it falls apart in the next minute. Duran got a straight red against Newcastle in GW18 after playing for just 31 minutes, what now appears to be his last tryst with Premier League as well as FPL. 

The sent-off resulted in a suspension of three games, which immediately brought back Watkins to the scene. When the new year arrived, it not only slotted Ollie back to Emery’s starting lineup but also generated serious interest in the transfer market about Duran. 

During Duran’s absence, Watkins showed why he is a proven asset in FPL and smashed 22pts in those three matches. It was evident that Villa is still good without Duran. Transfer talks with several clubs started to gain strong grounds while Jhon remained sidelined. Watkins kept starting and added another 13pts in the next two as Duran’s image started to fade from Villa’s scheme of things. 

After a huge bid of £57m from West Ham United was rejected, an astronomical transfer bid arrived from the middle-east along with the prospect of a huge paycheck for Duran. It was an offer which none of Villa or Duran could refuse. 

But what a career it could have been for Jhon Duran in the English top-flight. In May last year, Duran struck two late goals against Liverpool while coming off the bench to make it a 3-3 stalemate, drawing accolades and attention from all corners. His underlying numbers are jaw-dropping this season — 7 goals from an xG(Expected Goals) of 5.1. He has also scored three goals in the UEFA Champions League and hit the target twice in the English League Cup. 

Duran has outperformed his total xG by some distance and provided a great budget option with elite standards for FPL managers. It was only in October that the former Chicago Fire forward inked a new deal with Villa that would have seen him playing at Villa Park till 2030. He could have become the next big thing in FPL even if the West Ham move would have become a reality. 

Jhon Duran Latest Transfer News
It would be a dream-come-true moment for Jhon Duran to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, who has found the net even today in the Saudi Pro League (Image Courtesy: Al Nassr)

The Colombia international was about to reach his prime and chose a move that altered his career graph like never before. He has his own priorities and it juxtaposed with Villa cashing on him big time. We have seen a lot of big names along with new talents going to the Saudi Pro League after it all started with none other than Cristiano Ronaldo heading to Al Nassr two years back. 

Duran is reported to have completed his medical and is currently boarding a flight to reach Saudi in time to finalise the move. He must be excited with the possibility of playing right next to CR7 alongside the likes of Mane, Brozovic, Otavio and Laporte. 

But it could have been an entirely different story for Jhon Duran in PL as well as in FPL. And who knows, maybe in UCL too; with Villa making the top eight last night. However, he is now the main talking point of the January transfer window after we witnessed Kvara swapping Napoli for PSG. 

Meanwhile, this will make things a little different from the FPL perspective as we approach the double gameweek 24, where managers will be choosing between triple captain and the new assistant manager chip. Ollie Watkins will now be a terrific option in the forward line ahead of two subsequent plum fixtures against Wolves(A) and Ipswich(H). 

Though there are talks around a possible move to Arsenal before the transfer deadline with a strong bid already on the table, I don’t see Watkins moving away from Villa anytime soon. With Duran already booking the tickets to Saudi and a deep run into the UCL in hindsight, it’s highly unlikely that Unai Emery will let the lethal duo of Watkins and Morgan Rogers dismantle from the Villa attacking third. 

Despite so much at stake and Emery eyeing it big in UCL after winning the second fiddle to it (read Europa League) a record number of times, we need to keep a close watch on the transfer market before it closes tomorrow. If Watkins really switches sides, Morgan Rogers will be leading the line for Villa making things even more interesting from an FPL viewpoint. 

But today is for Jhon Duran. No one can take away anything from his fairytale journey — from a poor municipality area in Colombia to the record books of English winter transfer window and Villa history. The ‘super sub’ in FPL deserves every bit of credit for being such an inspiration and ray of hope to anyone who dreams big in life.