It is no secret that Barcelona are on the hunt for a holding midfielder following the departure of Sergio Busquets this past summer. Faced with a lack of funds, they decided to bring in Oriol Romeu as a temporary solution, but the search for a long-term successor is ongoing.
Speculation is rife over who Barcelona might pursue next summer, but agent Bruno Carvalho has revealed that one of the names they considered was Florentino Luis of Benfica.
“Due to the club’s financial fair play, I think it is difficult for Barcelona to present a proposal of 40 million. I cannot hide that they were one of the clubs that enquired about Florentino in the summer, there was a lot of talk about him, as did other Premier League teams,” he told A Bola, as carried by MD.
🚨 Today, Barça are working with three names for the pivot position: Martín Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) and Éderson (Atalanta). Three different profiles, but all of them already have enough experience and projection to be able to reinforce… pic.twitter.com/DiC0N4JIlC
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 16, 2023
“But Benfica decided to continue with him for more seasons and considered him non-transferable. In recent years, Florentino has played in European competitions, he is used to big games and it will always be his dream to continue playing in European competitions.”
Luis was on loan at Getafe two seasons ago, and did not make much of an impact in La Liga, but enjoyed a breakout season for Benfica last campaign. Frequently touted as one of the more promising midfielders of his generation as a teenager, it looks as if he is now making the progress that his raw talent suggested he might. Progress that Barcelona will likely have to watch from afar, given his valuation.
