Portuguese journalist confirms Milan’s interest in Florentino Luis and gives profile on midfielder

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan are among the teams interested in Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis but are not the only one, according to a journalist.

The Rossoneri have been persistently linked with a move for the 20-year-old in recent weeks as they look to reinforce their midfield with a long-term partner for Ismael Bennacer.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola continues to talk about frequent and concrete contacts between the clubs regarding a deal, and now Claudia Garcia – a sports journalist for Rai Sport and Eleven Sports Portugal – has lifted the lid on the situation surrounding Florentino.

“In January the parties were close, but Benfica decided to keep it. He is one of the most important in training and therefore they were not sure of letting him leave,” she said during an exclusive interview with MilanLive.

“In the recent period he played less than before due to a change of formation. Now the situation is different: Coronavirus has changed the market, he is very young and must have continuity. For this reason, Benfica could loan him out and Milan are among those interested, but it is not the only one. There are other teams.”

On a technical level many have described Florentino Luis as an excellent potential partner for Bennacer.

“Florentino is good, he remembers Makelele very much in the defensive phase: he is really strong on positioning, and is ready for the Italian league,” Garcia continued.

“He has an average of 90% of successful passes, which is a very high average. In Italy there is Bentancur with a similar average. He has an average of 3.2 tackles every ninety minutes: comparing him with the young Serie A midfielders, he has a higher average. Bennacer has 2.6.

“He has an average of 4.6 interceptions [per 90], another number higher than the boys of Serie A. It is true that he played less in this phase, but in all these things he is really strong. Then in the construction phase he is not very active, he is improving but he is a more defensive and positional player as his statistics tell us.”

The journalist was also asked about the potential of Lucas Paqueta moving to Benfica.

“Yes, he could be useful but given his salary I don’t think he will go to Benfica. I think more of an international change. We will see how he will play in the next games with Milan, he could have more opportunities.”

On Leao’s first season, she added: “Leao had a good first part of the season, then Ibra’s arrival helped him. Sometimes this is enough: you need to have a good partner.

“The same goes for Florentino, perfect in a midfield for two. Leao dribbles, exits, creates play, and is complementary to Ibrahimovic. Milan did well to buy it and in my opinion it will keep him for many years.”

Since Milan will focus heavily on young player in the next market, is there any Portuguese talents to recommend?

“Florentino as a defensive midfielder. Sporting forward Bruno Tavares: he plays in the Under 23 team, I like him very much. For goalkeeper there is Rui Silva from Granada: he is not very young but who buys him now makes a deal.”

 

Tags AC Milan Florentino Luis
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