Everton will be pushed back by Benfica if they make a move for midfielder Florentino, who they are ‘in love with’.
That’s according to Record, who say the Portuguese side have no intention of entering negotiations for any players at the club until the summer.
The newspaper reports that Everton are extremely keen on the 23-year-old midfielder, even sending ‘emissaries’ to watch him in this week’s 2-0 win against Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Everton’s scouting department were left very impressed by what they saw and ‘took very positive notes’ about Florentino back to Goodison Park.
Should they decide to make a move for him, though, they will find Benfica unwilling to enter any kind of negotiations for the time being.
The president of the club, Rui Costa, wants all his players focused on the objectives for this season, with Benfica currently top in Portugal and in the Champions League knockout stages.
He will consider sitting down for negotiations once the season is over but for now, any attempts will be rebuffed.
Everton are yet to make any bid for Florentino but they are huge admirers of him. There is another unnamed Premier League side who are ‘on the lookout’ as well.
He has a release clause worth €120m and, given their recent negotiations, Benfica are likely to push for as big a price as possible if they are to sell.
Everton wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near that figure, of course, but the interest is there nonetheless and only added to by this week’s scouting mission.
