Surprise claim ‘special right of first refusal’ for Aston Villa player

Earlier today, we covered claims from Argentina and Portugal that Benfica have closed the deal to sign Aston Villa’s Enzo Barrenechea on loan with a purchase obligation of €15m.

A Bola stated he’s expected to travel to Lisbon in the next few hours to undergo a medical.

The Argentine midfielder left Juventus to join Aston Villa last summer and the Villans sent him on loan to Valencia in the same window. He impressed for the La Liga club in the second half of the season and both parties showed desire to extend his stay.

El Desmarque states Los Ches have been presented with an opportunity to bring the 24-year-old back to Mestalla. It’s claimed they had the ‘special right of first refusal’ to sign the midfielder this summer.

The Spanish club have a good relationship with Aston Villa, mainly because of Unai Emery and Damià Vidagany.

When the Villans started receiving offers, they first offered Valencia an opportunity to match the figures because Barrenechea was eager to return to Mestalla. However, they weren’t able to match what Benfica are offering to sign the South American.

Despite being presented an opportunity by Aston Villa, Valencia failed to grab it and the player is now heading to Benfica.