Aston Villa favourite Juan Pablo Ángel has hinted that Jhon Durán may now regret his decision to leave Aston Villa, as he looks to start again at Benfica.
Win Sports have an interview with the former Aston Villa striker (Ángel) today regarding the Colombian striker.
Durán will be playing for Benfica this season after joining the Portuguese side on loan from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. They are the seventh club of his career to date, despite only being 22 years old.
He began in Colombia with Envigado before moving to Chicago in 2022. A year later he was at Aston Villa, where his career took off.
Aston Villa regret
The Villans paid €29.5m for him and he appeared to be a star in the making, developing quickly under Unai Emery’s guidance. By January 2025, though, he was heading to Saudi Arabia in a €77m move to Al-Nassr.
That did not work out. six months later he joined Fenerbahçe on loan. That deal lasted until February this year, but it was cancelled and he joined Zenit St Petersburg. Now he’s at Benfica on loan for the year.
It’s been a whirlwind of moves, to say the least. And Ángel has been watching it all closely. He admits he was happy with the move to Aston Villa and hints he thinks it should have lasted longer.
“I was very pleased when he went to Aston Villa because of the people at the club,” he said.
“Emery is a coach who would have helped his career immensely, but unfortunately, he left quickly just as he was showing his qualities.”
World class abilities
The former Aston Villa player firmly believes that the striker has world class abilities.
“He has all the skills and attributes to become a world-class striker; that’s why so many teams have taken a chance on him during his short career, hoping he would find stability and consistency,” he added.
He thinks the focus should now be on growing, maturing, and developing. Something that, so far, has only been seen at Aston Villa.
“He is young and will continue to grow, mature, and learn,” he concluded.
“Hopefully, that happens as soon as possible, because his characteristics are very important in modern football. He is a physical, fast player who scores goals, can lead the attack, has a good shot, and a decent aerial game. He possesses qualities that would be a huge help to us as a national team.”
“A mí me dio mucho gusto cuando Jhon Durán fue al Aston Villa; desafortunadamente, salió rápido de allá y creo que tiene la talla para estar en equipos de talla mundial. Ojalá encuentre la regularidad”: Juan Pablo Ángel, exfutbolista. #MedioTiempoWIN pic.twitter.com/GP6xXXnxsA
— Win Sports (@WinSportsTV) August 20, 2026
