Benfica have moved to tie down Andreas Samaris to a new contract follow intense interest from Sunderland in the January transfer window.
It was recently claimed that Sunderland failed with a late swoop to take Samaris to the Stadium of Light in the dying days of the transfer window, with the Black Cats slapping in a bid, but Benfica believing it was too late to sign a suitable replacement for the Greece star.
Now, according to Portuguese daily A Bola, Benfica have moved to tie Samaris to a new contract, which could make it more difficult or expensive for Sunderland to do a deal for the midfielder if they return in the summer.
Samaris and Benfica are claimed to have reached an agreement on the new deal, which would increase the length of his contract by two years, to 2021.
His current contract at the Estadio da Luz contains a release clause set at the €45m mark.
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Benfica snapped up Samaris in 2014 and so far this season the midfielder has made a total of 19 appearances across all competitions for the Lisbon giants.
Samaris missed a clutch of games earlier in the campaign after suffering an ankle injury in September.
