Graeme Bailey has highlighted one defensive midfielder who Liverpool admire ‘a lot’ and has stood out for his current club.
During the summer transfer window, Neil Jones cited Florentino Luis as a name to ‘look out for’ when it came to potential replacements for Fabinho at Anfield, with the Reds having reportedly sent scouts to watch him earlier this year.
The Benfica destroyer still seems to be on the radar at Merseyside, judging by comments from the 90min journalist on the Talking Transfers Podcast.
Bailey said: “A lot of people like Florentino Luis, Neves’ midfield partner at Benfica. Liverpool like him a lot and Manchester United have had a look as well, but everyone when they watch Benfica [says] this is the guy standing out.”
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As outlined by Jones during the summer, Florentino’s former underage coach Joao Tralhao gave this glowing appraisal of the midfielder: ‘I do think he has the ceiling to be one of these top midfield players’.
The coach also equated the 24-year-old to Fabinho and Casemiro for the ‘untold amounts of work’ he undertakes in matches, with the Benfica destroyer a player who ‘gets stuck in’ and ‘wins tackles’.
Such a selfless footballer is one that any manager and teammate would love, and the statistics back up Bailey’s assertion about the Portuguese ace being a standout player at the Estadio da Luz.
As per WhoScored, he boasts the second-highest tackling average (3.2 per game) and the highest rate of interceptions (2.2 per match) in Roger Schmidt’s squad, marking himself out as a diligent engine room operator who excels in winning back possession for his team.
With the number 6 role highlighted by several Liverpool reporters for The Athletic as the biggest weakness in Jurgen Klopp’s side right now, a player of Florentino’s ilk could well be worth pursuing ahead of a potential swoop in 2024.