Leeds United and Southampton were heavily linked with a move for Benfica starlet Florentino Luis this summer.
TMW claimed two months ago that Marcelo Bielsa was keen to sign the young Portuguese midfielder, while the Sun revealed a few days ago that Ralph Hasenhuttl had identified the 21-year-old as a replacement to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Luis is among the highest-rated midfield prospects in world football at the moment. The youngster has been previously linked to some of the biggest clubs in the world and, according to ex-Benfica coach Joao Tralhao, he is ‘a logical option’ for Real Madrid.
He told Bernabeu Digital in June: “Florentino is a young player who has exceptional talent. From very early on, we realized that Florentino was on the road to becoming an elite player.”
“I see Florentino as a logical option (for Real Madrid). He has a profile very similar to that of Casemiro and in Europe he is, without a doubt, one of the best in his position.”
Comparisions to one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in Casemiro show just how highly-rated Luis is. It is no surprise that Southampton and Leeds were keen to sign him, but it looks like the two Premier League clubs will miss out.
A Bola claim that Luis has landed in Monaco and is due for a medical in the next few hours. He is expected to sign for the principality club on an initial loan deal for around £1.8 million; a fee that Leeds and Southampton could easily afford.
It will be interesting to see how Luis fares under Niko Kovac at Monaco. The youngster is under contract with Benfica until the summer of 2024, and has a release clause of almost £110 million (A Bola).
The Portuguese giants will certainly end up with huge money whenever they decide to sell him, but it looks like Leeds’ and Southampton’s chances of signing him is now gone.
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