Aston Villa face a fresh threat in their pursuit of João Palhinha after Benfica stepped up negotiations for the Bayern Munich midfielder and reached an agreement in principle over a four-year contract.
Villa reopened talks with Bayern on Tuesday as Unai Emery’s side continued pushing for a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Benfica have now made a significantly different proposal.
Portuguese outlet A Bola reports that Benfica have offered Bayern €15million plus another €5m in performance-related bonuses for a permanent transfer.
Palhinha also has an agreement in principle to join the Lisbon club until 2030.
Aston Villa face João Palhinha transfer threat
The development creates an obvious problem for Villa.
Read Aston Villa reported on Tuesday evening that Villa had resumed talks with Bayern after their previous loan proposal was rejected.
Bayern’s preference throughout negotiations has been to secure a permanent departure for Palhinha rather than sanction another temporary move.
Benfica’s proposal therefore provides the German club with the type of deal Villa have so far been reluctant to offer.
TEAMtalk subsequently reported that Villa have re-engaged in discussions, but that the opportunity to return to Portugal is a significant attraction for the 31-year-old.
Benfica manager Marco Silva also knows Palhinha well from their time together at Fulham.
Villa’s need for another midfielder remains significant, with Amadou Onana sidelined long term and João Gomes expected to miss the opening weeks of the season.
Emery’s side are still in the race.
However, Benfica have now placed a permanent offer on the table and made progress with the player, increasing the pressure on Villa to find a structure Bayern are prepared to accept.
