Jhon Duran joins al-nassr: The journey from Colombia to Saudi via MLS and Premier League

Pelzer was a German defender who played for several teams in his home country – plus 18 months in Blackburn.

Unfortunately, his time at Ewood Park was destroyed by injuries and he only managed a League Cup match against Walsall in 2002.

In December 2019, four years after withdrawing from playing, Pelzer got his first job with a club – Technical Director of MLS Side Chicago Fire.

A few months after the job, he went to Envigado to scout a defender – which they also continued to sign.

“I looked at our main goal Carlos Teran at the time,” he told BBC Sport. “Jhon was subbed in later and you could already see how good he was.

“He was a raw talent but you could see his speed and acceleration. In the air he was already a handful for the defenders.

“From my experience in England, I knew he already had something for England. It was something where you could have the imagination he could handle it. It was a wow effect.”

But there was a VRI – in the form of an article that became the heading ‘Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football’ that included Duran.

“A few weeks later, The Guardian brought out a list, external, and after that it was a race,” Pelzer said.

“We wanted to get him somehow, but the clock was ticking. There were so many other teams that chased him too. We were convinced of his qualities.”

Again, Duran’s strong family roots were clear during the negotiations.

“Under the pandemic we had to be creative,” Pelzer said. “We had to get in touch with the family – it wasn’t that easy. Finally, we did what we got everyone on the same page.

“We showed him how he would move on here. We had a lot of conversations with his family, and it was also something that helped a lot at the moment.”

And then in January 2021, a 17-year-old Duran became the youngest international signature in MLS history against a $ 2.5 million fee. (£ 1.8 million).

But he couldn’t move until he turned 18 – then spent the next year on loan with Envigado.

In addition to playing and training with his Colombian club, he had weekly individual training sessions for the fire.

“It was important to us that he was well prepared,” Pelzer said. “In acceleration, technique, finishing, a lot of spring exercises, we trained him.

“You could see that the numbers were better every week, better. The course was already going in the direction you could see if he is training well and is focused on his work, he can achieve a good level.”

After a total of nine goals in 47 matches for Envigado, Duran traveled to the states. “For a young South American boy who entered a country like the United States, it was different,” Pelzer said.

“The city is huge compared to where he came from. Of course he had to adapt.”

Pelzer said he “was very raw but showed a lot of bright things” on his debut. “It was very impressive, but we had to work a lot with him to get him in the right frame,” he said.

“He has a lot of talent. When he joined us, it was about channeling all his qualities because he has to stay focused on his work,” the German continued. “If he is able to focus there and put all his efforts to his work, he is able to achieve a very high ceiling.”

Duran scored a goal in the first half of the season – but the net seven more in the second half of the campaign and finished as the club’s top goal scorer with eight goals in 28 games.

And then Aston Villa came in and signed him despite competition from other clubs.

“Villa were the ones who changed to sixth gear to make the deal happen,” Pelzer said. “They wanted him and were very serious and made all the efforts to make it happen.”