Jhon Duran is all set to join Al-Nassr after the Saudi side cancelled their move for Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface. The striker has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Aston Villa, scoring 12 goals in all competitions. Despite that impressive record, he still finds himself behind Ollie Watkins in the pecking order at Villa Park. His situation attracted the attention of Nassr, who have made signing a new forward their top priority for the January window. Boniface was seen as a potential target for the Saudi side, alongside Duran.

Boniface helped to fire Leverkusen to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double last season. Despite Nassr's reported interest, Leverkusen's sporting managing director Simon Rolfes has confirmed the Nigerian is set to stay in Germany this month. "He is still a Bayer player. There have been talks. That's why he didn't train yesterday, so there wouldn't be any unrest before today's big game," Rolfes said after the Champions League win over Sparta Prague on Wednesday.

"But we haven't 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're very happy that Boni will be training with us tomorrow. I assume he will stay. The likelihood of that is very high. He feels comfortable here, his attitude towards the club is unchanged.".

HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Jhon Duran making a good move by joining Al-Nassr? Comment below. The update on Boniface paves the way for Duran to move to Nassr in a deal expected to be worth £64.5million. The 21-year-old was seen handing out gifts to team-mates and club staff, following Villa's win over Celtic on Wednesday. While Duran has scored some important goals this season, Villa boss Unai Emery has admitted he would welcome the money that selling the Colombian international would bring in.

“Our players are interesting other clubs and as well [they are] paying good money for us,” he said. "But of course our objective here is to keep our structure intelligently because we want to be on the sports side on the level we are and to keep it for a long time is the most difficult challenge we have. “Of course sometimes we have to do it, maybe sell some players and as well change and try to continue improving always. I don’t know exactly until everything is done if Jhon Duran is leaving but if he is leaving it is good news for us because it means they are paying good money.

“Because we have developed one young player in two years to get this offer. It is not only for the club, it is the club, the players and team, those circumstances can be positive. Club, the player and the team.”. Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.