Aston Villa offered chance to sign Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis

Aston Villa have been linked with a summer swoop for Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis.

Florentino Luis, 24, has risen through Benfica’s youth ranks and was promoted to the senior team in 2019. After loan spells with AS Monaco and Getafe, the Portuguese midfielder enjoyed his breakout campaign at Benfica last term, making 54 appearances across all competitions. However, a lot has changed since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

The 24-year-old has fallen out of favour under Roger Schmidt this season, limiting him to just 13 league starts. Schmidt has preferred the central midfield pairing of Joao Neves and Orkun Kocku and the arrival of Leandro Barreiro at the end of the season will only add to competition within the squad. As a result, Luis, despite being tied to Benfica until the summer of 2027, is considering his future at the club.

This has reportedly given Aston Villa a second chance to sign the 24-year-old defensive midfielder from Benfica. Last summer, the Villans enquired about the possibility of signing Luis, who had a €40million price tag on his head. Nonetheless, the Premier League eventually decided against signing him.

Florentino Luis searching for a new home

Florentino Luis has lost his place in Benfica’s starting XI and is seemingly looking for a new club to revive his career. As the season has entered its closing stages, he is considering his options and one of them could be Aston Villa.

With the former Portuguese under-21 international’s role being reduced at Benfica this season and him wanting a new challenge, his price is expected to come down and Unai Emery’s Villa may take advantage of the situation. The Villans would require a robust, tough-tackling defensive midfielder if Douglas Luiz departs at the end of the season.

Luiz has been one of Villa’s best players this campaign, and his stellar performances have attracted a lot of interest from top clubs in recent weeks and months. if he decides to leave and join a bigger club than Villa, Emery must adequately replace the Brazilian international. And Luis could be an option the Spanish tactician could look at, given the Benfica man excels in passing, breaking up play and tackling.

Villa consolidated their fourth position in the Premier League table with a fantastic 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. If they can secure Champions League qualification, Villa Park will become an attractive destination for many players. It may tempt Luis into joining the West Midlands club if they table an offer because they had enquired about him last year.