Aston Villa and Tottenham have suffered a new blow in their desire to sign Gianluca Prestianni, Benfica's striker, after the Portuguese club began moving to renew its Argentine player's contract.
Gianluca Prestianni
Club: Benfica
According to the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, the two English clubs may face significant difficulty in convincing Benfica to part with Prestianni.
The previous report indicated that the 20-year-old player has a release clause in his contract worth approximately £86 million.
However, the new development is that Benfica is preparing a plan to offer Prestianni a new contract extending until the end of the 2030-2031 season.
The Portuguese club also hopes that a significant increase in the player's salary will help convince him to agree to extend his contract and stay at the Estádio da Luz.
Prestiani has made a strong start to the current season, contributing five goals and providing three assists in seven starting appearances in the Portuguese league during the 2026-2027 season.
Despite this performance, neither Aston Villa nor Tottenham appear willing to pay the value of his release clause at this stage of his career.
Aston Villa would already need to break the club's transfer record to sign Prestianni, so it is likely that the English club will quickly end its interest in the player if Benfica sticks to its financial demands.
As for Tottenham, they spent large sums to strengthen attacking positions and playmaking during the summer transfer window, but they still suffer from a shortage in the central striker position.
After both teams' disappointing starts to the new Premier League season, Unai Emery and Roberto De Zerbi seem to have already begun thinking about the upcoming winter transfer window.
Reports indicated that Aston Villa and Tottenham have placed Prestianni on their list of potential targets, as they plan to strengthen their squads in the coming period.
