Benfica Signs Duran on Loan as Al-Nassr Flop Seeks Revival
Benfica are closing in on a deal for Colombian forward Duran, gambling that a change of scenery can revive a career that has stalled badly since his big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
The 22-year-old is set to join on loan from Al-Nassr, with the Saudi club agreeing to shoulder the bulk of his hefty salary to push the move through, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola. For Benfica, it is a low-risk shot at unlocking a talent that once convinced Al-Nassr to pay €77 million for him.
From €77m statement signing to the exit door
When Al-Nassr prised the former Aston Villa striker away in January 2025 on a contract worth around €20 million a year until 2030, he arrived as a statement signing for the Saudi Pro League. He leaves, at least temporarily, as a symbol of a project that has not gone to plan.
Eighteen appearances across domestic and continental competitions is a thin return for that level of investment. No rhythm, no real run in the side, and no sense that the move ever truly fit. The club’s CEO, Jose Semedo, has now given Duran the green light to find a new home and relaunch his career.
Benfica are ready to offer that lifeline.
Loans, setbacks and a World Cup heartbreak
The decline did not begin in Saudi Arabia alone. Before the Lisbon move, Duran’s trajectory had already started to dip.
Loan spells at Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg failed to ignite. In Turkey, he never quite settled into the rotation. In Russia, things went from difficult to damaging: disciplinary issues saw him frozen out of the first-team squad at Zenit, turning a loan opportunity into another dead end.
The consequences stretched beyond club level. Once seen as a long-term pillar for Colombia, the striker with 17 caps found his lack of regular football catching up with him. When the 2026 World Cup squad was named, his name was missing. For a player of his age and profile, that was a brutal marker of how far his stock had fallen.
Lisbon calling – and Marco Silva waiting
Now comes another reset. Duran is scheduled to arrive in Lisbon in the coming days to undergo his medical and finalise the loan before linking up with Marco Silva’s squad.
Benfica do not plan to ease him in gently. The idea is clear: drop him straight into pre-season, expose him to the tactical demands and intensity of Silva’s system, and see whether the raw tools that once made him so coveted can be reshaped into something consistent and reliable.
Silva wants mobility, aggression and intelligence from his forwards. Duran, at his best, offers power, depth runs and a direct threat that can stretch defences. The question is whether he can rediscover that level in a more structured, demanding environment.
Benfica’s attacking puzzle
His arrival comes at a key moment for Benfica. The club face a heavy schedule, with domestic ambitions to defend and a Champions League league phase that will test the depth and versatility of the squad.
Benfica’s frontline has quality but needs fresh energy and different profiles to cope with the volume and variety of games ahead. A rejuvenated Duran would give Silva another option to rotate, to change the tempo of matches, to attack space late in games when tired legs appear.
For the player, the stakes are even higher. This is not just another move. It is a chance to prove he belongs at the sharp end of European football, to force his way back into the Colombia conversation, and to show that the fee Al-Nassr once paid was not a wild misjudgment.
Benfica are betting they can turn a rescue mission into a revival. The next few months in Lisbon will reveal whether Duran is ready to meet them halfway.
