Aston Villa’s interest in Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni includes watching him for Argentina during the international break.
The 20-year-old will be monitored with Argentina during the extended break as Aston Villa continue to keep an eye on his performances.
Sport Witness reported last week how Aston Villa scouts had been in Portugal for the clash between Benfica and Porto. We named several players they could have been looking at in that game, including Prestianni.
He bagged an assist in the 3-1 loss, impressing despite his side’s defeat, which was largely due to Clement Lenglet’s early red card.
Indeed, he has been impressing early on in this campaign, with eight goals and three assists in 12 games in all competitions catching the eye.
Aston Villa scouting
O Jogo now report that Aston Villa are specifically watching Prestianni. They state that the youngster has been watched since the start of the seasons.
In fact, Aston Villa were at the Estádio do Dragão for the derby with Porto to specifically watch the Argentine in action. They wanted to see him in a high-stakes, difficult match. He impressed too, bagging an assist despite his team’s 3-1 defeat.
The belief is that after targeting wingers in the summer – Aston Villa signed Alejandro Garnacho – they could return in the January transfer window. Indeed, Prestianni could be a direct replacement for his compatriot.
They would have to beat Atlético Madrid to the punch. They’re continuing to invest in Argentine talent for Diego Simeone and have Prestianni on their radar.
International monitoring
For now, all the sides – Aston Villa, Tottenham and Atlético Madrid – are expected to continue their monitoring during the international break.
The 20-year-old is a part of Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad for this extended set of games. Representatives are likely to be at those games.
Any deal will not be a cheap one. Benfica have the winger tied to a deal until June 2029 and it includes a €100m release clause. They’re already in talks about an extension with increased wages to ward off potential interest.
It seems they believe that the scouting will turn into concrete bids before too long. That will definitely be the case if Prestianni continues to impress.
