Argentine club keen on offering a new contract to 16-year-old Barcelona target

Reports from Argentina earlier this week claimed that Barcelona were close to signing the Argentine wonderkid Gianluca Prestianni from Velez Sarsfield.

The 16-year-old youngster is regarded as one of the finest talents coming through the youth ranks in the South American nation. Despite his age, Prestianni has already made several first-team appearances for Velez and has managed to attract the interest of top European clubs.

Real Madrid have also shown a degree of interest in Prestianni, but reports suggested that Barcelona are set to complete his capture.

However, according to reports from Ole (h/t FCB World), any deal is far from done and in fact, Velez Sarsfield are hoping to offer a new contract to Prestianni.

The 16-year-old’s current contract runs until December 2024 and comes with a release clause worth €12 million.

However, as per the report, Velez are hoping to offer him a new and improved deal which would also see his release clause amount rising to €20 million.

It could become an impediment in Barcelona’s pursuit of Prestianni. Given the club’s current financial situation, it would be hard to imagine that the Catalans would shell out such a sum for a largely unproven talent who is still cutting his teeth at the senior level in Argentina.

Prestianni, a versatile forward, has made six senior appearances for Velez this season, registering one assist in the process. As iterated earlier, he is rated very highly in his homeland.

What now remains to be seen is whether he signs a new contract at his boyhood club or opts to move to Europe, where Barcelona lie in wait.