Florentino Luis on settling in at Burnley, survival chances and previous Aston Villa interest

Arriving on deadline day, the 26-year-old has been given a harsh welcome to English football – facing Liverpool and Manchester City in two of his first three games.

The midfielder, who arrived on an initial loan from Benfica, has already managed to impress though, despite the Clarets slipping into the bottom three following their heavy 5-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

Reflecting on his start to life in East Lancashire, Florentino – as he prefers to be called – said: “It's been a very good experience because I'm liking the club, the city, and the supporters.

“It's a place where I can see that every person loves the club a lot and our responsibility to give everything in the game is good because we know that we have to make the people proud.”

It’s not just on the pitch where Florentino has had to adapt, it’s also been a completely new experience for him away from Turf Moor, settling in with a young family.

Having been at Benfica since 2010, it was a big call for the Angola-born man to make the move to a completely new country.

He said: “It's a good challenge because we've come out of our comfort zone, but it's been good because we like the city, we like the people and for being real, it's better than I expected and I wish I could stay here a lot of time.”

When asked what expectations he did have before arriving, Florentino added: “The only thing bad that I heard was the weather, that I would get used to this, but when things go well on the pitch, in football, with the teammates, I think everything around will be good.”

Losing four of their first six games, Burnley’s start to the season might have gone as expected to many outside observers.

But given their gruelling start, facing Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City within their first six games, Scott Parker’s side have done well to accrue four points.

While Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa is far from easy, Burnley’s upcoming fixtures do look a little kinder on paper, with the likes of Leeds United, Wolves and West Ham to come.

Florentino, however, is taking nothing for granted, adding: “Every game is like a battle and there are no easy games, but we are looking forward to it and we want to see game by game and every game we want the three points, every game we want to do the best and this is our mentality.”

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In a different scenario, Florentino could be lining up this afternoon as a Villa player, with Unai Emery’s side showing strong interest in his services in 2024.

Florentino has no regrets though, insisting he’s focusing on a long and happy career at Turf Moor.

“There are things that happen in football,” Florentino said. “Sometimes you have the expectation to go to one place, but after these things don't happen, the most important thing for me is the present and I'm happy here.”

While Burnley fans will be encouraged by how competitive they’ve been this season, the odds are still against them.

Florentino, however, is highly confident the Clarets can avoid the drop.

When asked if they’ll survive, he replied emphatically: “Yes, for sure, for sure. I think we have everything to stay.”

He added: “Every game is like a battle. You know that you have to give everything in every game and we are growing.

“We are going in the right direction and I think we have to continue working so we can have the results that we want.”

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