Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly both interested in Florentino Luis and are prepared to battle each other for the SL Benfica wonderkid.
The Sun speculate that Florentino Luis is on the agenda of both the Manchester clubs. Manchester United and Manchester City are both reportedly interested in the SL Benfica youngster and are set for a transfer scuffle in order to prise the midfielder away from the Portuguese giants.
Born in the capital of Portugal, Florentino Luis is a product of the SL Benfica youth setup that have, in recent times, produced gems like Joao Felix, Gedson and Ruben Dias among many. Luis broke into the first-team setup at Benfica in the 2018-19 season and ended the season on a strong note, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.
The 20-year-old has continued the same in the ensuing season so far, playing in each of Benfica’s four Liga NOS games till date. His stature has been consistently on the rise, with Manchester City already having a bid rejected for the youngster during the recently concluded transfer window, as per the report. Manchester United are also among the ones interested in Luis.
Pep Guardiola has already brought in a Fernandinho replacement in the form of Rodri from Atletico Madrid. But, the Manchester City manager is still keen on adding to his options in midfield, with Ilkay Gundogan not really favoured by Guardiola in recent matches and David Silva set to leave the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2020.
Manchester United on the other hand, failed to reinforce their midfield despite selling Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera from their squad. Add to it the fact that Nemanja Matic seems to have fallen out-of-favour and is not really a starter under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, leaving the United midfield screaming for fresh arrivals.
Florentino Luis could just be the buffer United need in midfield to allow Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay, who has looked more comfortable when allowed to venture forward, to act as pure number 8s. Also, bringing in Luis could alleviate Solskjaer’s need for a number 10, with Pogba likely to be pushed into an advanced midfield role.
?: Florentino Luís vs SC Braga;
Yet another great performance from the 20 year old defensive midfielder. So much potential. pic.twitter.com/mR7cZ2hcD4
— Benfica Youth 2 (@SLBenficaYouth) September 2, 2019
Manchester United reportedly also had their backroom staff scout the player in Benfica’s 4-0 win over Braga recently.
Yet to become a full-fledged Portuguese international, the report puts a potential transfer fee at £91 million, which is likely to be the release clause for the 20-year-old. City had a £50 million bid rejected for Luis but the Manchester clubs would hope to negotiate a fee lower than the stipulated fee according to the report.
Whether the interest converts into a concrete bid in January or the summer of 2020 remains to be seen. But, one thing is for sure, Luis is set to be the next Benfica star in line for the limelight in European football.
