Jhon Duran is completely ready to become a member of Al-Nassr after the Saudi side had canceled their move for Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen.
The striker enjoyed a breakthrough season in Aston Villa and scored 12 goals in all competitions. Despite that impressive record, he is still behind Ollie Watkins in the pecking order in Villa Park.
His situation caught the attention of Nassr, who made the signing of a new forward priority for the January window. Boniface was seen as a potential target for the Saudi side, next to Duran.
Boniface helped Liverkusen to fire last season to the Double of Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. Despite the reported interest of Nassr, Simon Rolfes, Sporting Director of Leverkusen, has confirmed that the Nigerian will remain in Germany this month.
“He is still a Bayer player. There have been conversations. That is why he did not train yesterday, so there would be no unrest for today's big game,” said Rolfes after the Champions League victory on Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“But we have not received an offer that would make us decide to let him go. He is an important player from a sporting point of view. Of course, economic considerations can also play a role when it comes to certain sums of money.
“But we are very happy that Boni will train with us tomorrow. I assume he will stay. The chance of that is very high. He feels comfortable here, his attitude towards the club is unchanged.”
The update on Boniface paves the way for Duran to move to Nassr in a deal that is expected to be worth £ 64.5 million. The 21-year-old was seen to hand out gifts to teammates and club staff, after the victory of Villa op Celtic on Wednesday.
Although Duran has scored some important goals this season, Villa boss Unai Emery admitted that he would welcome the money that the sale of the Colombian international would bring in.
“Our players are interesting other clubs and also [they are] Pay good money for us, “he said. “But of course our goal is to keep our structure intelligent, because we want to be on the sports side at the level that we are and to keep it long is the most difficult challenge we have.
“Of course we sometimes have to do it, maybe some players sell and also change and always try to keep improving. I don't know exactly until everything is ready when Jhon Duran leaves, but when he leaves, it's good news for us because this means that they pay good money.
“Because we have developed a young player in two years to get this offer. It is not just for the club, it is the club, the players and the team, those circumstances can be positive. Club, the player and the team. '
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