Leeds enter the race for Benfica’s Florentino

Leeds United have reportedly entered the race to sign Florentino Luis from Benfica this summer, according to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri.

The 20-year-old central midfielder is a product of Benfica’s academy, and this season he has made a total of 18 appearances in all competitions after getting promoted to the first team last year.

Florentino has apparently been of great interest to AC Milan who, given Benfica’s high valuation of the player and their own financial limitations, are hoping to agree a deal for a season-long loan with an option to buy. There has been interest from Real Betis as well, who have appointed Manuel Pellegrini as the head coach and are said to be looking for a replacement for William Carvalho.

However, Leeds have now returned to the Premier League and manager Marcelo Bielsa isn’t very likely to hope to just stay up after the upcoming season. They are working on bringing Florentino discretely, in order to avoid drawing attention of other potential suitors from the youngster. Their offer is likely to stand somewhere between €20m and €30m, though it hasn’t arrived yet.