The Magpies have started the season strongly despite having a young and inexperienced squad and a new coach in Matthias Jaissle.
In the last transfer window, the strategy was to sign promising young talent who can also contribute to the first-team from the get-go.
During the summer, the club signed Ewn Jaouen, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba, Bazoumana Toure, and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, all under the age of 23.
Newcastle United have put their faith in young prospects to keep the club competitive, while building towards the future and stabilising the club as consistent performers in Europe.
As per Yahoo! Sports, Newcastle United are keeping tabs on Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, but they face competition from several Premier League clubs.
It is believed that, along with Newcastle United, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Brighton are also tracking Prestianni’s development in Portugal.
Gianluca Prestianni began his career in Argentina at Velez Sarsfield’s youth system, and then in 2024 Benfica came calling after he impressed in the first-team.
The 20-year-old had just played 39 games in Argentina’s top flight, contributing to 4 goals, and it was enough to impress Benfica, as they paid £7M to sign him on a five-year deal.
This term, the Argentina international has made 14 appearances in all competitions and has made 13 goal contributions in the process.
Prestianni is a versatile player who primarily plays as a right-winger, but can also be deployed as a left-winger, left-midfielder, and at times as an attacking midfielder.
He is a very tricky dribbler, with good balance, pace, and vision, and he can shoot with both feet as well as draw fouls in the opposition half, which enables his team to build pressure during set pieces.
Besides that, he has good stamina, which allows him to make several off-the-ball runs behind the opposition backline and press the defenders in their own half.
With Jaissle in charge, Newcastle United have turned into a team which presses the opposition with intensity and aggression to create quick counterattacking chances while utilising both flanks.
Prestanni could be a good fit for Jaissle’s high-pressing and fluid counter-attacking play style, but he will have competition from Anthony Elanga and Jacob Murphy.
At the moment, Elanga and Murphy are working in somewhat rotational shifts in the right-wing positions, while the left wing is occupied by new signings Bazoumana Toure and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, along with Harvey Barnes.
Murphy has attracted interest from Nottingham Forest and Everton, and in the event he does leave, Jaissle will want to bring in reinforcements in the winter transfer window.
Newcastle United have invested heavily during the summer transfer window, and signing Prestanni will not be cheap, as his release clause is set at £87M.
Currently, Prestanni is valued at around £33M as per Transfermarkt, but with growing demand for his signature, Benfica will hope there is a bidding war for him to gain maximum profit.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle United will act on their interest in signing Prestanni, or the 20-year-old will make a move elsewhere.
