Jhon Duran takes out defender with bizarre WWE-style move five minutes into Zenit St Petersburg debut, as former £65m Aston Villa star aims to revive stuttering career

The latest bizarre incident in Jhon Duran’s madcap career took place just minutes into his Zenit St Petersburg debut. 

The Russian club were playing a pre-season friendly against Shanghai Port, a clash they went on to win 6-0, with their big-name striker wearing their colours for the first time. 

But Duran risked a red card five minutes into the contest when a grappling match with the centre-back turned ugly. 

Duran then grabbed his opponent around the neck before hauling him to the ground in what appeared to be more like a wrestling move. 

Fortunately for the forward, he remained on the pitch and the referee opted not to make anything of the incident in a friendly game. 

Duran is still just 22 but his career has already been a rollercoaster, with the loan to Zenit marking a latest odd turn.

It is a puzzling fall from grace for a 22-year-old who was banging in the goals for Aston Villa in the Champions League as recently as last season.

In January last year, Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Saudi Arabian employers Al-Nassr completed a £64.5million move to sign the Colombian, handing him a contract worth around £355,000 per week until 2030. 

Chelsea and West Ham had wanted Duran – Villa rejected a £57m bid from the Hammers shortly before he moved to Saudi Arabia – and there was no doubt that he was one of the Premier League‘s most exciting rising stars. 

He settled well in the Middle East, scoring 12 goals in 18 games, but was reportedly tempted to Turkey by the promise of an even more lucrative salary. 

But Duran found it hard to adapt in Turkey and axed his loan. French side Lille were negotiating to bring him in but that move collapsed as they were unable to meet his gargantuan salary demands. 

Duran only scored five goals in 21 games for Fenerbahce and had to settle for coming off the bench as he fell down the pecking order. 

Moving to Zenit a decade ago would have been a promising move. They were regular participants in the Champions League and reached the last 16 in 2015-16, the third time they had made the knockout rounds in the 2010s.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the nation’s clubs have been banned from participating in European competition. The national team is also barred from taking part in UEFA and FIFA competitions. 

Duran’s latest club in Russia is another chapter of a strange career and he is still just 22

It is therefore hard to judge the standard of the Russian Premier League at the moment.

He will, at least, be playing in front of big crowds. Zenit’s average home attendance is almost 37,000 – comfortably mid-table by English Premier League figures. 

Duran has led an itinerant career, moving from Envigado in his homeland to Chicago Fire, then Villa, Al-Nassr, and latterly Fenerbahce and Zenit on loan – all by the age of 22.

He is a senior international for Colombia, having amassed 17 caps and scored three goals.