Tottenham and Aston Villa have been keeping a close eye on Gianluca Prestianni, and there are now a few more reasons to understand why.
We’ve covered the story over the past few days. Both Spurs and Villa have been watching the Benfica youngster since the start of the season.
They had scouts at the recent clash with Porto specifically to see him in a difficult game. Representatives are also expected to follow him during this international break with Argentina.
Now there are more details on just how well things are going for the 20-year-old.
Prestianni leading the way in Portugal
Correio da Manhã takes a closer look at Prestianni’s season and some of the numbers are quite astonishing.
The Argentine is currently the player with the most shots in the Portuguese league. He also leads the competition for successful dribbles, with 21, and fouls suffered, also with 21.
Then there are the goals. Prestianni has eight already this season. That’s twice as many as he managed across his previous two campaigns combined.
He’s added three assists in the league and has become one of the main drivers of Benfica’s attack under Marco Silva. So that makes the interest from Tottenham and Aston Villa very easy to understand.
Prestianni was already considered a major talent when Benfica paid €10m (£8.7m) to sign him from Vélez Sarsfield in January 2024. Now the production is catching up with that reputation.
Scaloni likes what he’s seeing
Record brings an update from Argentina, where Prestianni is currently training with Lionel Scaloni’s squad.
The youngster arrived with some discomfort in his left ankle. That caused an initial scare, but medical checks found no injury. The issue came from a knock and Prestianni has been able to continue training normally.
So there may actually be something for them to watch. According Record’s story, Prestianni has been making a very positive impression on Scaloni in training. He’s currently working with the second-choice side and has been used specifically on the left wing.
That’s also where he’s been doing much of his best work for Benfica. Record says Prestianni is ‘gaining points’ with the Argentina manager and putting himself in contention for minutes in the upcoming friendlies.
So Tottenham and Villa could soon get another look at him, this time at international level.
| Statistic | 2025/26 | 2026/27 so far |
|---|---|---|
| Club | Benfica | Benfica |
| Appearances | 41 | 12 |
| Minutes | 2,122 | 844 |
| Goals | 3 | 8 |
| Assists | 5 | 3 |
| Goals + assists | 8 | 11 |
| Minutes per goal | 707 | 106 |
Benfica still waiting for renewal agreement
All of this comes with Benfica trying to protect themselves. O Jogo says president Rui Costa has already opened talks over an improved salary and an extension to Prestianni’s current deal.
There is still no final agreement between the parties. His existing contract runs until June 2029 and contains a €100m (£87m) release clause, so Benfica are hardly powerless.
Prestianni has also recently moved under Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute umbrella – which says a lot to be fair. But for now, Tottenham and Aston Villa are still at the scouting stage. Atlético Madrid are watching him too.
The thing is while everyone watches, Prestianni is leading the Portuguese league in some pretty eye-catching attacking metrics, impressing Scaloni and potentially earning himself Argentina minutes. That’s quite a lot for those scouts to scribble down.
