Enzo Barrenechea could soon depart Aston Villa on a permanent transfer due to a clause inserted in the midfielder's Benfica contract.

Villa allowed Barrenechea to join the Portuguese giants in the summer having banked an initial £2.5m in a loan fee.

But Villa could bank a further £10m due an obligation to buy the Argentina player that was a condition of his move.

Benfica have not confirmed the conditions that would trigger a permanent move but according to a report from O Jogo ( via Sport Witness ) he is not far away from meeting the criteria.

It is claimed the midfielder only has to play 15 times before the deal becomes concrete

The Aston Villa man has played 634 minutes from eight games in all competitions and started each fixture.

O Jogo claim Benfica are priming themse

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