Turkish giants Fenerbahce are closing in on a loan deal to sign Jhon Duran. The centre forward left Aston Villa in January in a deal worth £64.5m but the move to Al-Nassr has not gone to plan for the striker.
Now, Jose Mourinho’s side are offering a return to European football with a season-long loan deal. According to Foot Mercato, the 21-year-old will swap Saudi for Istanbul this summer. This deal could mean that Fenerbahce will not follow up their initial interest in Celtic’s Daizen Maeda.
The 27-year-old caught the eye of the Turkish side given his impressive form that fired Celtic to a consecutive Double. The 23-cap Japan Internationalist scored 33 and assisted 12 goals in 51 appearances for Celtic, capturing the attention of a number of suitors across Europe.
There will no doubt be a number of clubs that retain an interest in Daizen’; however, it looks unlikely that Duran will wish to swap Saudi for Turkey for a bit-part role. The player is likely commanding a significant salary in Saudi, meaning that Fenerbahce will require to cover a large chunk of his wages.
