On the move - football's youngest journeymen

On the move - football's youngest journeymen

  July 25, 2026    slynews

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Some of football's most celebrated players stayed loyal to a single club for their entire career.

The Premier League's most-decorated player, Ryan Giggs, is one, so too AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, Roma's Francesco Totti and Arsenal defender Tony Adams.

Perhaps some current players such as Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden might join them too.

But there are players at the other end of the spectrum, those who can look back on a lengthy list of employers, and sometimes while their career is still in its infancy.

The most famous current example is Jhon Duran, the former Aston Villa striker joining the seventh club of his career at the age of just 22 last week.

He joins others who were in danger of acquiring the journeyman tag before their 23rd birthday. These are some of those players.

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Ex-Villa striker Duran joins seventh club aged 22

Ex-Villa striker Duran joins seventh club aged 22

  July 25, 2026    slynews

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Sam Drury

Published
21 July 2026

Former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has joined Benfica on a season-long loan from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

The Portuguese giants will be the seventh club of Duran's career at the age of just 22, following recent stints with Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg.

Benfica will pay a £5.19m (6.1m euros) loan fee for the Colombia international with the option to make the move permanent for £25.5m (30m euros) at the end of the 2026-27 season.

"I am happy! I continue to say that it is the biggest club in Portugal. I am very grateful to be here," said Duran.

"I have very high expectations of being here. I want to play well, give my all and become champion."

Duran began his professional career with Colombian side Envigado in 2019 before earning a move to MLS team Chicago Fire in 2022.

He was on the move again in January 2023 when he joined Aston Villa for £14m and quickly became a fan favourite.

A move to West Ham fell through in the summer of 2024, but after scoring a famous winner for Villa against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Duran was sold to Al-Nassr for £71m in January 2025.

Despite scoring eight goals in 13 games for the Saudi Arabian side, he stayed for only half a season before moving to Fenerbahce on loan.

But manager Jose Mourinho was sacked less than a month after Duran made his debut and the loan was cancelled in February 2026 so he could join Zenit.

After bagging three goals in nine games in Russia, Duran now has the chance to make a home at Benfica, his seventh club in the seventh country of his young career.

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France orders evacuation of peninsula as hundreds flee wildfires by boat

France orders evacuation of peninsula as hundreds flee wildfires by boat

  July 24, 2026    slynews

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Authorities in France have ordered the evacuation of the entirety of the Cap Ferret peninsula (Lège-Cap Ferret) in the south-west of France, with hundreds of people escaping the area by boat.

The tourism hot spot is being evacuated as firefighters continue to battle a wildfire that has raged in the Gironde region for days.

The fire, which began on Tuesday in Saumos, continued its progression overnight with 8,700 hectares (around 21,500 acres) consumed by the flames.

Meanwhile, the government in Spain has declared a national emergency as wildfires burn out of control in several areas close to the capital Madrid.

Two firefighters died on Tuesday while tackling the blaze near Bordeaux's airport with officials saying on Friday morning that no new injuries had been reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday night the wildfire situation in the country is "very tense" - referencing the Gironde region in particular.

Macron said he requested help from the European Union, adding the country will soon be supported by aircraft from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The region's prefect, Sophie Brocas, ordered the "final phase" of the evacuation early on Friday morning.

People are being told to leave via the main road from the area towards Bordeaux while boats were being made available for others between 07:00 and 10:00 local time (06:00 BST and 09:00 BST) from four piers.

In Spain, firefighters are tackling wildfires in several areas not far from Madrid. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national emergency as fires burned at Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid region and at Burgohondo in Ávila.

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