Tottenham Hotspur may have to forget about signing Vangelis Pavlidis in January, with Benfica now taking an extremely firm stance on the Greek striker’s future.

Spurs have been linked with the 27-year-old for months, and the interest has only gathered pace as his goalscoring numbers keep climbing.

Pavlidis scored again at the weekend, helping Benfica beat Estrela da Amadora 3-2. That took him to 19 goals this season, another impressive return after scoring 30 in each of his previous two campaigns.

And while that form makes him an attractive option for Tottenham, it’s also making Benfica even less willing to let him go.

Benfica have no intention of negotiating

Portuguese newspaper Record reports on Tuesday that Benfica have effectively closed the door on January departures for their most important players.

Pavlidis is right at the top of that list, alongside Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni and Andreas Schjelderup.

According to the newspaper, Tottenham are among the English clubs paying the closest attention to the Greek international. However, Benfica’s management have no intention of entertaining negotiations during the winter window.

And there’s an interesting detail that shows just how serious they are. Record reveal that Fenerbahçe offered more than €50m (£41.8m) for Pavlidis during the summer. The Turkish club also proposed an annual salary of around €8m (£6.7m), plus bonuses.

Benfica turned down the transfer, and the striker was subsequently rewarded with an improved contract. He’s now among the highest earners at the Portuguese club, and he’s protected by a €100m (£83.5m) release clause.

That’s quite the statement, especially considering Benfica were previously reported to be willing to discuss offers starting at €40m (£33.4m). So the situation has clearly changed.

VANGELIS PAVLIDIS Benfica · 2026/27 season statistics

19 appearances  |
19 goals  |
4 assists  |
23 goal contributions

Competition	Apps	Minutes	Goals	Assists	Goals + assists
Primeira Liga	11	901	11	3	14
Europa League*	8	474	8	1	9
SEASON TOTAL	19	1,375	19	4	23

SCORING RECORD

Minutes per goal	72.4
Minutes per goal contribution	59.8
Penalty goals	6
Non-penalty goals	13

Scope: Competitive Benfica first-team appearances in 2026/27, through 8 November 2026. *Europa League figures include qualifying rounds. Friendlies and Greece appearances excluded. No appearances in domestic cup competitions at this date.
Method: Minutes and assists follow Opta’s records. Goals include penalties. Goal contributions = goals + assists. Minutes-per-goal figures are rounded to one decimal place.
Updated: 12 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS

Tottenham’s timing couldn’t be worse

Pavlidis isn’t giving Benfica any reason to reconsider their position. Earlier this month, A Bola highlighted his extraordinary scoring rate. At that point, he had 17 goals in 17 appearances, averaging one every 70 minutes.

He’s since added another two, including the winner against Estrela da Amadora.

Beyond the numbers, Marco Silva considers him a central part of his plans. Benfica are fighting for the Portuguese title and have ambitions in the Europa League, so losing their main striker halfway through the campaign would hardly help.

The same applies to Prestianni, another Tottenham-linked player, who already has 12 goals and six assists. Benfica believe keeping both players is essential to their ambitions.

Of course, things can change quickly in football, especially when big money enters the picture. But Benfica have already rejected a substantial offer once, and their striker has only become more important since.

If Tottenham genuinely want him, January is looking like a very difficult time to make it happen.