Liverpool are believed to have sent scouts to watch Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis in action recently.
The 23-year-old has been a fixed presence in Roger Schmidt’s team this season, featuring in 42 matches in the current campaign (Transfermarkt) and helping his side to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Having signed Darwin Nunez from the Lisbon club last summer, the Reds appear to be eyeing another possible raid on the Estadio da Luiz.
According to Graeme Bailey on Twitter, Liverpool and Tottenham are ‘amongst the clubs checking on Benfica starlets Antonio Silva and Florentino Luis’.
Liverpool and Tottenham amongst the clubs checking on Benfica starlets Antonio Silva and Florentino Luis.@90min_Football https://t.co/eXShvp7Jaw
— Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) March 7, 2023
Along with his colleague Sean Walsh, the journalist mentioned in the corresponding report for 90min that the two Premier League clubs had dispatched scouting teams to watch the duo in their side’s 2-0 win over Famalicao last Friday.
The 23-year-old midfielder has drawn glowing praise from former Benfica coach Joao Tralhao, who told GOAL: “He is the kind of player every coach would like to have in their squad.
“He’s an amazing boy, a hard worker, calm, professional, always prepared to listen and he is a proper team player. He doesn’t think only of himself.”
Liverpool’s midfield has all too often seemed lightweight in recent months, and Florentino could be an ideal remedy to any such shortcomings.
The industrious Portuguese destroyer excels at breaking up the play, averaging 2.6 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game this season (WhoScored).
Thiago is the only Reds player with a better tackling average (2.9 per match), while nobody at Anfield comes close to the Benfica midfielder’s interception rate (WhoScored).
Florentino could undoubtedly add plenty of steel in the middle of the park for Liverpool, but inevitably he comes with a frighteningly high release clause – €120m (£107m) according to O Jogo (via Sport Witness).
Unless FSG and co can pull off some shrewd negotiations to get that figure down, it could unfortunately be too much of an obstacle to overcome.