Aston Villa interest is firm and longstanding – Officials sent, 8 goals this season

Aston Villa’s interest in Gianluca Prestianni goes back much further than the scouting trips we’ve been covering recently.

The Benfica winger has been watched by Villa since the start of this season, with Tottenham also keeping a close eye on him.

Both clubs have plenty of reasons for that. Prestianni has eight goals already and leads the Portuguese league for shots and successful dribbles.

It turns out Aston Villa already knew all about him before he even arrived in Portugal.

Aston Villa interest goes back to Vélez days

A Bola takes a detailed look at Prestianni’s journey at Benfica and reveals Villa were interested while he was still at Vélez Sarsfield.

Chelsea and West Ham were also keen, while Ajax and PSV were following him from elsewhere in Europe.

Benfica had been tracking Prestianni since he was 16 and eventually won the race. They paid €9.5m (£8.3m), including intermediary fees, in January 2024. Things didn’t immediately go to plan.

A Bola describes the youngster who arrived in Lisbon as “immature and impatient”. There were even moments when a departure looked possible.

River Plate tried to take him back to Argentina in January 2025 and returned later that year. Ajax also made an attempt.

Benfica themselves considered sending Prestianni out on loan in summer 2025. A permanent transfer was discussed too. They eventually decided to stick with him.

That happened again this summer when Trabzonspor made a strong push for the Argentine. Benfica resisted once more, and that patience is looking pretty clever now.

Di Maria, Otamendi and a lot of growing up

A Bola explains that Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi played a big part in Prestianni’s development. They helped him settle into Benfica and life in Lisbon. They also weren’t afraid to tell him when they thought he was getting something wrong.

Apparently, he didn’t always listen. One example came in January 2025. Otamendi noticed Prestianni had his right thumb protected and learned he wouldn’t be training or doing gym work that day.

The Benfica captain gave him a talking-to. Di Maria recently hinted at how much work had gone into his young compatriot too. Responding to a Prestianni post after the Gil Vicente game, he wrote: “I’m glad you listened to me. Love you, kid!”

Jose Mourinho later played his part. In January, Mourinho reminded everyone that Prestianni was still young enough to play for Benfica B and in the Youth League.

He also spoke about the winger learning how to defend in a zonal system, understand positioning and read the game better without losing his natural flair.

There was a more difficult episode along the way. Prestianni became involved in controversy with Vinicius Junior during Benfica’s Champions League meeting with Real Madrid. He was later suspended for discriminatory language towards the Brazilian.

A Bola says the episode and its international attention prompted plenty of reflection from Prestianni. They present it as another important moment in his development.

Marco Silva sees a different player now

The version Aston Villa and Tottenham are scouting today appears to be very different from the impatient teenager Benfica signed.

A Bola says Prestianni’s behaviour and commitment have been “impeccable”, something which has positively surprised Marco Silva. The Benfica manager has been particularly pleased with his work in training.

“What matters to me is that he keeps his focus on what got him to this point,” Silva said.

“If he’s playing the way he is, it’s because he worked. I’ve said more than once that he worked in an exemplary way from the first day, in his application, attitude and commitment to training.”

“Then, because he has talent, he’s able to express his football in games. But before the games comes the work that has to be done by a professional footballer.”

“And in that respect, regardless of being 20 years old, he managed to do it from the very first moment.”

Benfica now want to reward that progress. Prestianni’s current contract runs until 2029 and contains a €100m (£87m) release clause.

There has been talks over a renewal, and A Bola now provides another detail. The plan is to extend his deal until 2031 and give him a pay rise. There’s no agreement yet, but surely Aston Villa’s long-term interest makes the timing a bit more interesting.

After Benfica spent a couple of years wondering exactly what they had on their hands, the answer is starting to look much clearer.