Nottingham Forest seeking to scupper Everton signing plan – Toffees keen since January, now face fight

Everton could end up facing a fight for Benfica midfielder Florentino Luis as Nottingham Forest are now showing an interest in him.

That’s according to Record, who say Nottingham Forest have suddenly decided to take a look at the midfielder, who the Portuguese side are open to letting go in the coming weeks.

The newspaper explains that while Florentino turned last season around and finished as a starter for the Portuguese side, even earning praise from manager Roger Schmidt, he is a player Benfica would not be bothered about losing if it came to it.

They’ve put a €30m valuation on the midfielder’s head and seem to think they could get it, with Nottingham Forest joining Everton in showing an interest in him.

Everton have been interested since January and tried to get a deal done at the end of that window. They were unable to do so but have maintained a watch on him since, with all indications that they could push to try and get Luis this summer if Amadou Onana leaves as expected.

The route had been clear with them often named as the only interested party by the Portuguese press, but Nottingham Forest have now been added to the list.

There’s a deal there to be done with Benfica as they’ll happily sell to help them keep Joao Neves, while they’ve already added Leandro Barreiro as another option in midfield anyway.

The big question is which Premier League side bites first, with Everton now perhaps forced to move quicker than they’d like, to avoid missing out on a long-term target.