According to the Daily Mail Spurs are unwilling to pay Benfica the £36m option to buy fee for Carlos Vinicius, but they do want to so sign the player permanently.
However, Spurs are not ruling out keeping the Brazilian would like him to extend his stay next season – but at a much lower cost.
Talks between the two clubs took place at the beginning of March and had the player’s agent, Flavio Ribeiro, acting as an intermediary.
There have been no concrete offers from Spurs as of yet, but Vinicius’ representative has already informed Benfica that the player would like to stay in north London.
Despite playing second fiddle to Harry Kane, Vinicius, according to a source close to the 25-year-old, believes that he may have an increasingly important role at the club in the near-future.
Although both clubs are yet to discuss figures, Sportsmail understands that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is willing to offer £17m (€20m) for Vinicius, a little more than the £14.5m (€17m) Benfica paid Napoli to bring him to Portugal in 2019.
Ribeiro has already met with Benfica director Rui Costa to discuss the matter.
A new meeting has also been scheduled for the end of April, this time with the president of the Portuguese club, Luis Filipe Vieira.
This new meeting has already been put back due to Benfica not wanting to rush any decision regarding Vinicius.
With Benfica trailing Sporting Lisbon by 13 points in the title race – and qualifying for the Champions League still as an uncertainty – the Eagles will wait until the summer to make a decision on the striker, and may decide to hold out for a higher fee.
Vinicius arrived at Tottenham with the help and guidance of agent Jorge Mendes and with his return to Portugal not confirmed, Benfica also believe Mendes may play another decisive role in any new negotiations with Spurs or other potential suitors.
