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Aston Villa and Benfica appear to be the two destinations João Palhinha is currently considering, with Newcastle United reportedly rejected by the midfielder. It has been a busy Friday around the Bayern Munich player. Several pieces of information have come from Portugal about where his future could lie. Newcastle had appeared ready to take advantage of the difficulties between Aston Villa and Bayern. They reportedly offered Palhinha a three-year contract. This pointed towards a permanent transfer. That possibility now appears to have been knocked back. During CNN Portugal‘s Mais Transferências, the presenter revealed that Palhinha had rejected the possibility of joining Newcastle United. That information prompted the panel to conclude this is currently looking like a two-way battle between Aston Villa and Benfica. Palhinha has reportedly agreed terms with both João Palhinha himself does not appear to be an obstacle for either of those clubs. Diogo Viana, a Sport TV pundit and friend of the midfielder, has told Record that Palhinha has already reached an agreement over personal terms with both Aston Villa and Benfica. “I’ve been reading reports that Palhinha has already agreed terms with Aston Villa. He’s also already agreed terms with Benfica,” Viana said. “João Palhinha wants Aston Villa or Benfica, because of everything these two clubs have done, because they really want the player and because they’re constantly speaking to the player.” Viana says Palhinha is prepared to take a pay cut to return to Portugal and has already communicated that to both the Benfica hierarchy and Marco Silva. Aston Villa still seen as slightly ahead The feeling among those discussing the situation in Portugal is that Aston Villa nevertheless have an advantage. Earlier discussions around the transfer had Palhinha described as “closer to Aston Villa than Benfica”. Nuno Farinha offered a similar assessment on CNN Portugal. He believes Aston Villa have stronger arguments available to them. Therefore, Villa could be slightly ahead in what he now considers a two-club race. The problem for Villa is Bayern. Max Eberl confirmed Aston Villa have contacted the German champions about Palhinha. However, he made clear there is currently no agreement between all the parties involved. Farinha picked up on that “unfortunately”. So, he saw it as another indication of how keen Bayern are to find a solution for Palhinha. He also believes Benfica have been handed renewed hope by the failure to get the Aston Villa deal over the line. Player agreement isn’t the problem That fits with comments made in another Portuguese television discussion about Palhinha. On Now Canal, journalist Paulo Catarro explained that the midfielder knows he has options. He has given interested clubs the green light. From there, the challenge is negotiating with Bayern. “Palhinha knows he has a market, he knows there are clubs he’d be available to play for,” Catarro said. “Having given those clubs the green light, as he did with Benfica, he has to wait for those clubs to be capable of negotiating with Bayern Munich and unlocking his transfer.” Catarro specifically pointed to Aston Villa’s difficulties. He saw these as evidence of how complicated Bayern are making the operation. “Aston Villa have also been at this for a week,” he said. “Aston Villa have also gone headfirst into the process, with the sporting director acknowledging João Palhinha as a target, and Aston Villa haven’t managed to definitively resolve Palhinha’s signing either.” So, after plenty of movement on Friday, the picture has actually become a little clearer. Newcastle have reportedly been rejected. Palhinha is said to have agreed terms with both Aston Villa and Benfica, with Villa currently considered slightly ahead. The remaining problem is the big one: finding a deal Bayern are prepared to accept.