Leeds and Newcastle United missed out on a midfielder with “enormous potential” after Florentino Luis joined Monaco from Benfica, former coach Joao Tralhao has told RMC.
This isn’t the first time Tralhao has spoken in glowing terms about the Portugal U21 international.
Earlier in the year, the one-time Benfica tactician told Bernabau Digital Luis was an “exceptional” talent with an almost identical skill set to that of Real Madrid’s belligerent ball-winner Casemiro.
How Leeds could have done with a player like that during successive 4-1 Premier League defeats to Leicester City and Crystal Palace.
The Whites held talks with Benfica over a potential £25 million deal for Luis between February and July, only to be pipped to the post by Niko Kovac’s Monaco (TMW).
“He’s a kid with enormous potential. He has an ability to analyse the game few other players in his position have in Europe. In the defensive phases, he is two, three seconds ahead,” Tralhao says of a man who has played four of the last five Ligue 1 games.
“In his position, few players have his potential in Europe. I was very happy to see him move to Monaco
“I consider him to be a complete player. He has enormous potential.
“He is a player who can be of use to any team. He manages to give his team space offensively because he presses a lot and he frees up his teammates. From a defensive standpoint, he’s always a big help. He knows how to occupy spaces, how to win duels in an extraordinary way.”
It’s easy to imagine the impact Luis could have made at Newcastle too after Steve Bruce’s midfield was bypassed with consummate ease during recent defeats to Manchester United and Southampton.
In June, the Daily Mail reported Newcastle had made an enquiry but, once it became clear the supposed Saudi-led takeover wasn’t going to happen, the trail went cold.
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