Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Monitoring Benfica’s Florentino Luis

GOAL‘s Neil Jones is reporting that Liverpool FC, along with Arsenal, are “among those to have made checks” about Benfica’s Florentino Luis. The 23-year-old Portuguese player is a defensive midfielder who currently averages more defensive actions in the opposition half per 90 than any player in Europe’s top six leagues.

He also has a contract that runs until 2027, which means Benfica can probably get another giant fee from whomever finally relents and pays whatever crazy figure they ask. Probably Todd Boehly.

From Jones’ piece, Fernando Meira, the former Portugal international defender, had this to say about Luis’ playing style:

“He is clearly a top player. He’s the type of player who can play as a No.6 or as a No.8, because he is aggressive defensively, he is strong in the air, very good technically so can give you quality in the construction of your game. And he runs a lot! He can occupy a lot of space in midfield, which can help you to press high.

“Every year, he plays with more experience, more maturity. And he gives the team what they need, not only offensively but also giving balance to the team defensively. For me he is clearly a player with fantastic development in the last two years.”

He could be one of the few men who can give Liverpool that injection of intensity and work in the middle of the park again. We’ll wait and see.