Jhon Jader Durán began his football education in the youth ranks of Envigado, the Colombian club long celebrated for producing attacking talent, and broke into the first team as a teenager in 2019.

In 2022 he moved to North America with Chicago Fire, and his physical presence and finishing in Major League Soccer earned him a transfer to Aston Villa in January 2023. In England the left-footed forward built a reputation as one of Europe's most dangerous substitutes, repeatedly turning matches from the bench, and he announced himself on the biggest stage in the 2024/25 Champions League — most memorably with an audacious long-range lob to beat Bayern Munich at Villa Park.

In January 2025 he joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, before loan spells in Turkey with Fenerbahçe and in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg.

A full Colombia international, he was part of the squad that reached the Copa América final in 2024. He arrives at the Estádio da Luz on a season-long loan for 2026/27, wearing the number 22 shirt.