Aston Villa could be close to banking a transfer fee in the region of £10 million thanks to a clause in their loan deal for Enzo Barrenechea.
The Argentinian midfielder headed back out on loan in the summer transfer window, joining Portuguese giants Benfica after a brief return to the Premier League club. According to reports, Benfica’s obligation to buy Barrenechea outright might not be too far away.
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It’s also been revealed that Villa have a significant sell-on clause in the agreement, giving them a reported 30% in the event that he is sold on by the Lisbon club.
Reports in Portugal indicate that Barrenechea will become a Benfica player on a permanent basis once he’s made just 15 appearances. Having already featured in eight matches in all competitions, he would be more than halfway there already.
The Portuguese top-flight season is only three weeks old but Benfica also had to go through qualifiers for the Champions League in order to seal their place in the league phase. The 24-year-old featured in all four qualifying games, started each one, as Benfica defeated Nice in the third qualifying round and Fenerbahçe, now to be Villa’s Europa League opponents, in the play-off round.
The former Juventus midfielder has also started four times in domestic competition, three times in the league and once in Benfica’s Portuguese Super Cup fixture. Head coach Bruno Lage clearly has no intention of leaving Barrenechea on the sidelines.
Is Barrenechea a mismanaged talent?
Barrenechea joined Villa in the summer of 2024 along with England Under-21 international Samuel Iling-Junior. It was part of the dealings that took Douglas Luiz in the other direction to Juventus, but both Iling-Junior and Barrenechea have played no significant part at Villa.
The Argentine was immediately loaned to Valencia in Spain, playing 33 times and making three goal contributions. He played a big part as Valencia made an impressive and badly needed ascent into mid-table under former Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberán.
Before joining Villa, Barrenechea thrived on loan at Frosinone. Playing in Serie A for a team that would ultimately be relegated, the young midfielder played 39 times in all competitions in 2023/24.
It appears that Unai Emery and Villa have no desire to integrate Barrenechea into their plans and it’s a shame he’s had to be a makeweight in their transfer dealings if that’s the case. If a permanent move is on the cards, putting down roots in Portugal, where his manager sees him as a first team fixture, would be a positive outcome for all concerned.
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