With Barcelona casting their net far and wide in search of a replacement for departing club captain Sergio Busquets, SPORT is reporting that they have identified SL Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis as a possible candidate for the role.
Florentino is a product of the Benfica youth academy and has been on the club’s books since 2010. He made his first-team debut for the Portuguese giants in 2019 and then went on to have loan stints at AS Monaco (2020/21) and Getafe (2021/22).
During the 2022/23 campaign, the 23-year-old became a mainstay in the centre of the park at Benfica as he racked up 54 appearances across all competitions, even chipping in with three assists.
Florentino was particularly impressive in the UEFA Champions League where Benfica went as far as the quarter-finals before being eliminated by eventual finalists Inter Milan.
As such, the Portuguese ace has seemingly caught the eyes of Barcelona, who are now looking at him as a possible option to fill the void that will be left by Busquets’ exit.
The report states that the Blaugrana scouts have followed him on several occasions this term and have wondered about his price.
Furthermore, within the club they believe that the Portuguese midfielder is a very strong positional player and has shown improvement in his game with the ball at his feet.
Florentino is understood to have a release clause worth €120 million in his contract but Benfica would be open to selling him for a much lower fee of €40 million.
It would make the 23-year-old a much more affordable option for Barcelona in comparison to Martin Zubimendi, who is Xavi’s preferred option but will cost €60 million.
Joshua Kimmich is another player that is said to be high on the wishlist of the La Liga champions. But signing the Bayern Munich midfielder will not be easy either.
So, it remains to be seen if the Catalan heavyweights decide to press ahead in their pursuit of Florentino Luis as a possible candidate to replace Busquets.
