Burnley boss provides Florentino Luis update amid Hull City, Ipswich Town and Fulham interest
Nicky Hayen provides update on Florentino Luis’ Burnley future
Florentino Luis was in attendance at Burnley’s latest pre-season friendly despite being left out once again.
The midfielder watched on from the Bob Lord Stand on Wednesday night as the Clarets played out a 2-2 draw with Espanyol in their first Turf Moor outing of the summer.
It was the second time in just four days that the 26-year-old had been left out by Nicky Hayen amid ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
It was thought a move to Premier League newcomers Hull City was close, but it’s understood there’s also interest from other teams, such as Ipswich Town and Fulham.
Addressing Florentino’s latest situation following Wednesday night’s game, Hayen told the Burnley Express: “Florentino, of course, there's a lot of interest in him. We'll see what the next days will bring as a result.”
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It comes after the new Burnley boss admitted his absence against Ajax at the weekend was due to the club not wishing to risk an injury for the Portuguese man.
“That's possible [that his exit is imminent],” he said.
“We didn't want to take the risk with Tino for having an injury, so we gave him the days for the club to take care of that.
“We will see in the upcoming days what it will be. But we know there is an offer and we'll see what happens in the next few days.”
Florentino only recently became a full-time Burnley player after they were obligated to make last season’s loan from Benfica permanent.
He made 33 appearances in all competitions and largely struggled to live up to his billing as a former Champions League player as Burnley were relegated from the Premier League.
The speculation comes in the wake of an unusual social media post from Hull owner Acun Ilicali, who hinted at the club’s transfer targets on his official X account in response to “false speculation”.
He went on to put numbers from four to 11 with the flags of countries and percentages next to them as he suggested how close Hull were to signing players of those nations.
A Portugal flag, a possible nod to Florentino, was posted alongside the number 80 per cent, suggesting a deal could well be close.
In the meantime, Burnley have brought in Ugo Raghouber, who also plays in Florentino’s position as a deep-lying midfielder.
The 23-year-old caught the eye on his first outing against Espanyol, following his permanent switch from Lille.