Nottingham Forest want to sign £26m player compared to N’Golo Kante and his club are happy to sell

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Nottingham Forest are now keen to sign a player who has been compared to N’Golo Kante – and his club are happy to sell him.

Fresh from securing a third successive season of Premier League football, Evangelos Marinakis is looking to avoid another relegation battle by improving Nuno Espirito Santo‘s squad.

Now – as the transfer window gets underway – Nottingham Forest could soon strike a £26m agreement…

Nottingham Forest want Florentino Luis

A story by Record in Portugal now states that Nottingham Forest want to sign Benfica No.61 Florentino Luis this summer.

The Portuguese news outlet believe Benfica are willing to sell the 24-year-old as they aim to raise funds which enable them to keep Joao Neves, who is wanted by Manchester United.

Benfica are even said to have identified a replacement for Luis already in Leandro Barreiro.

Record add that Benfica want €30m (£26m) to sell the man from Lobito this summer – a fee Nottingham Forest may only be able to pay if sales are made, due to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Luis made 45 appearances for Benfica in the 2023/24 campaign – failing to register a goal involvement from defensive midfield, while picking up ten yellow cards.

Nuno Espirito Santo could sign his own N’Golo Kante

Luis is not exactly a household name in football, so a number of Nottingham Forest fans might not know a lot about him.

If that is the case, a comparison to a better known player may be of use, and the Nottingham Forest target has actually been likened to some of the best defensive midfielders around.

Firstly, Joao Tralhao – who used to work as a youth coach at Benfica – compared Luis to Claude Makelele and Casemiro, telling Goal: “He has the talent and quality to play in elite teams. Remember when Real Madrid had the Galacticos? They needed someone to balance the team, and Makelele was so important. 

“More recently, Casemiro did that job, allowing Ronaldo, Modric and Benzema to attack. Florentino has those capabilities.”

Furthermore, the Mirror once likened Luis to 2018 World Cup winner Kante – who was arguably the best defensive midfielder on the planet during his time at Leicester City and then Chelsea.

READ MORE: Joe Lolley says player Nuno is yet to use at Nottingham Forest was the toughest to face in training

Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Nottingham Forest aim to sign the Benfica stalwart this summer.