Chelsea are keeping tabs on Benfica’s exciting right winger Gianluca Prestianni but face competition from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, as per TEAMtalk.
Prestianni is part of the latest exciting generation of Argentinian talents making waves for their respective clubs in Europe.
He began his career at Vélez Sarsfield and came through the ranks at the Argentine outfit. He was one of the outstanding players at the youth level, which led to his first-team debut in May 2022 at just 16 years, 03 months and 24 days. The appearance saw him become the youngest ever debutant in Velez history and the 17th youngest in Copa Libertadores history.
The right winger went on to make 38 more appearances for the 1994 South American champions before signing for Benfica in January 2024.
Since his arrival at the Estádio da Luz, Prestianni has been one of the most exciting forwards in Europe and could cost well over his current £34m Transfermarkt valuation.
The 20-year-old appears to have overcome what could be described as a difficult personal episode to begin the new campaign on fire, providing 11 goal contributions in 12 games across all competitions, two more than he did in 41 games last season.
Now, according to TEAMtalk, Prestianni’s performances have reignited keen interest among several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea.
‘Very special’ forward
The report adds that the London giants have made checks on the two-cap Argentina international in recent months to assess the youngster’s readiness ahead of a potential swoop.
However, the Blues are not the only ones keeping tabs on the exciting winger’s progress, as TEAMtalk claims that Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have also conducted checks on him.
While no formal approach has been made at this stage, Chelsea, along with Tottenham and United, are continuing to monitor the Argentine starlet who is also of interest to Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United, according to the report.
Although Xabi Alonso has an abundance of wingers in his squad, his three-at-the-back system means they can either be utilised as wing-backs, as seen with Pedro Neto or as inside number 10s like Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers
While this formation has seen the Blues score a plethora of goals, it has limited the likes of Estevao Willian, Geovany Quenda, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and other natural wingers to reduced roles.
Prestiani, described as ‘very special’ by former Fulham and current Benfica boss, is known for his flair and constant attacking threat from the wing, so playing him as a ten could limit his qualities.
As a result, this could give Tottenham and United the edge in convincing the Argentine to join them, so it’ll be interesting to see how the transfer plays out.
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