Reported Leeds United and Newcastle United target Florentino Luis has the talent to play for Italian giants AC Milan, former Portugal international Nuno Gomes tells Calciomercato.
The 20-year-old midfielder is nicknamed ‘The Octopus’ back home in Iberia, although this is not a reference to his meagre tally of eight Primeira Liga games in 2019/20.
Florentino has risen through the ranks at the Estadio da Luz, using his rangy limbs to snatch the ball from opposition attackers and start attacks of his own.
While he found first-team football hard to come by during Bruno Lage’s time in charge of Benfica, the numbers speak for themselves.
In his only Europa League appearance of the campaign, Florentino made a remarkable 10 tackles and five interceptions, while averaging 2.5 and 3.3 per game in domestic football.
No wonder the £25 million-rated Florentino has been compared to Real Madrid watercarrier Casemiro (Bernabeu Digital).
“In my opinion, he is very ready to play for AC Milan,” the two-time Primeira Liga winner Gomes says after Florentino was linked with a move to San Siro.
“This was his second season in the first team. I think he is ready to always play at a very high level. He plays in front of the defence and although he does not catch the eye on the pitch, almost all his actions are done well.
“He sees the game and defensively knows how to cover the spaces very well. Even if he is young, he is ready.”
Tuttomercatoweb reported a fortnight ago that Leeds had held talks with Florentino’s agents, hoping to make the spindly ball-winner their marquee signing after being promoted back to the Premier League.
Newcastle were also interested, according to the Mail in June.
But, with that Saudi takeover collapsing, it is no coincidence that links with the Magpies have gone a little quiet.
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