Former Premier League striker set to leave Saudi Arabia for Fenerbahçe

José Mourinho could be about to make his second signing of the summer.

by Andy Davies June 28, 2025
Image: BBC Sport

The Saudi Pro League has attracted some big names over the past two seasons.

Karim Benzema, Neymar, N’Golo Kanté, Sadio Mané, Fabinho, Ivan Toney and Riyad Mahrez have all made the move to Saudi in recent years.

There is no name bigger in the RSL than Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently extended his stay with Al-Nassr.

The league is not short of attracting players, despite complaints over fan attendance.

However, we have seen players jump ship in recent times.

Jordan Henderson was the first big arrival to leave Saudi.

Neymar has also left the league, now back playing at Brazilian side Santos.

There is now another ex Premier League player to be on their way out of Saudi.

Former Premier League striker set to leave Saudi Arabia for Fenerbahçe

It has been reported that former Aston Villa striker Jhon Durán is set to join Turkish side Fenerbahçe.

Duran only joined the Saudi Pro League in January five months ago, arriving on January 31st for a fee of £71 million.

The news of his move from Villa to Saudi came to a shock to Premier League fans.

Despite often being deployed in a ‘super sub’ role behind Ollie Watkins, he scored 12 goals in 29 games across all competitions prior to the move.

This included a stunning winning goal for Villa against Bayern Munich at Villa Park.

He has since impressed since playing in Saudi, with 12 goals in 20 for Al-Nassr.

It looks like his time is over in the Middle East as he is set to team up with Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho.

Having decided against the signing of Jadon Sancho, Duran appears to be their guy.

He will hope to guide the Super Lig giants to their first league title since 2014 and avoid a fifth straight runners up finish.

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