Florentino Luis unlikely to join Premier League newcomers Hull City

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has revealed Burnley midfielder Florentino Luis is unlikely to join the Premier League newcomers.

It had previously looked increasingly likely that the 26-year-old was closing in on a loan move to the MKM Stadium.

But interest from other sides has since emerged, with both Fulham and Ipswich Town reportedly keen, and a permanent exit now looks more likely.

“I think that he will not come to us," Jakirovic told Hull Live. "I think that he will go to another club, though I don't know which one.

“His move, I believe, will be a permanent transfer, so we don't have a chance with that because we want to loan him from Burnley. This is his decision and his family, which I respect.

“We have some options, so we will activate our second option now, so I hope we will finish it.”

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The Portuguese midfielder has been left out of Burnley’s squad for their past two friendlies, although he was in attendance at Turf Moor on Wednesday for the 2-2 draw against Espanyol.

Addressing Florentino’s latest situation following the midweek friendly, Clarets boss Nicky 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.”

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 deep-lying midfielder.

“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.