Tottenham are reportedly interested in keeping on-loan Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius at the club beyond this season.
The Brazilian has been with Spurs since October, scoring nine goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.
According to Mail Online, talks about a potential permanent move begun earlier this month and Vinicius is keen to remain in north London.
Vinicius’ loan deal contains a £36 million option to buy, but Spurs are thought to be planning a £17 million bid instead, only £2.5 million more than the fee Benfica paid Napoli to secure his services in 2019.
Most of the 25-year-old’s Tottenham appearances have come in the Europa League, which Jose Mourinho’s men crashed out of at the last 16 stage after a shock 3-0 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night.
Six of his nine goals came in the same competition, with the other three making up a hat-trick in January’s 5-0 FA Cup third round win over Marine.
Vinicius has made seven Premier League appearances and started February’s 1-0 loss at Chelsea with Harry Kane out injured.
Benfica are expected to wait until the summer before making any decision on their player’s future. The 37-time Portuguese champions and two-time champions of Europe currently trail Porto by three points in the race for Champions League qualification.
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