Florentino Luis is still waiting for his full league debut as an Ipswich Town player. (Image: Ross Halls)
Florentino Luis is still waiting for his full league debut as an Ipswich Town player. (Image: Ross Halls)
Florentino Luis joined Ipswich Town in a £16m deal this summer. The former Burnley man has discussed midfield competition and his Portugal ambitions.
Several things have made the settling in process easy for Florentino Luis.
First, is the support of his family. The 27-year-old always highlights how much his wife, Bruna, and three children – Ayla (5), Serena (2) and Calebe (9 months) – are central to his world via a wholesome YouTube channel.
“Family is very important, they are the pillars to my life and they give all the strength that I need,” he says.
“I have my wife and kids here. And because it’s so close to Portugal, a lot of friends are coming to my home to visit. It's very good for me. I can feel that I have the energy from my family and friends. They are every time pushing me forward.
“I think if your family is well in the city, if your family is well received by the people, of course you will say to yourself that you need to give back on the pitch. You can see that the people live for the club here.”
Florentino Luis suffered an set-back in pre-season when he injured his calf. (Image: Ross Halls)
There’s also his Christian faith.
“It's the thing that supports me every day,” he explains. “The first thing that I do every day in the morning is pray. I'm here because God gave me this opportunity to be here and the way that I say thank you is giving everything.
“It shows to me that we are not alone in everything that we do, not just on the pitch but outside of the pitch. I believe that if we do good things then, for sure, in the future good things will come back to us.”
Born in the south western African nation of Angola, Luis grew up in Portugal. He made his name at Benfica, winning two titles and playing in the Champions League, before joining Burnley in the summer of 2025.
Last season’s experience of playing 31 times in the Premier League for a Clarets side that suffered relegation means that the intensity of English football hasn’t come as a complete shock to the system.
Ipswich Town are said to be keen on signing Burnley midfielder Florentino Luis
Florentino Luis got his first taste of the Premier League last Burnley last season. (Image: PA)
“It was a year that gave me so much as a person and as a footballer,” he reflects.
“It was a bit difficult in the beginning to adapt to the game, but once you know how things go, how fast you need to think, you become a better player.
“I could understand that you never can relax because other teams have the same goal to stay in the Premier League.
“If we want to reach that goal we need to give every time 100% in the training because we will get better. For sure, the results will be good for us because the quality is here in the club. But we must know that just quality is not enough, we need to give everything.”
Another thing that has helped with finding his feet has been his new team-mates.
Florentino Luis (left) has struck up a friendship with Julio Enciso (right).
(Image: Ross Halls)
“I speak a lot with (Exequiel) Palacios, (Marcelino) Nunez, (Julio) Enciso and Emersonn because we can all speak Spanish,” he explains. “It's good because you feel like you are at home speaking a language very similar to yours.
“But they are all very good guys here and they welcome you very well from the beginning.”
There’s also been the familiar face of Zian Flemming. Luis has been reunited with his former Burnley team-mate after Ipswich paid £17m to sign the Dutch striker on transfer deadline day.
“It's a very good move for him and for us,” enthuses Luis. “It was a pleasure to play with him at Burnley because he gives his all for the team during the game.”
What didn’t help with the bedding in process was the calf injury sustained during his first outing for the Blues, the 3-0 friendly win against Rayo Vallecano on August 4. That delayed his competitive debut until mid-September. Thus far, he has come on as a second half sub at Crystal Palace and Everton, either side of a Carabao Cup start against Arsenal.
“It was sad,” he admits, when asked about that set-back. “In the beginning I was feeling good in training and also in the one match that I had with the team, but the time out gave me chance to get stronger and now I'm ready for what is coming.”
Breaking into the team is not going to be easy. Palacios, a World Cup winner with Argentina, and Sasa Lukic, who gained plenty of Premier League experience at Fulham, are the current central pairing, while Azor Matusiwa, Town’s Player of the Year in last season’s promotion campaign, has just returned to fitness following summer surgery.
Exequiel Palacios on the ball
Exequiel Palacios is part of a midfield unit containing plenty of depth.
(Image: Ross Halls)
“Yeah, the teammates in the midfield are very good,” admits Luis. “Sasa, Palacios, Azor and Nunez – they are all very good players. It's good to have strong players because in training we know that we have to push each other and in the game it’s the same thing.”
Luis will be hoping to catch the eye of boss Gary O’Neil during this week’s warm weather training camp, with 10 of his team-mates – including Palacios and Lukic – away with their countries.
Further down the line, however, the former Portugal youth international is hoping he can be one of the players heading off to earn senior caps.
“It's one of my dreams to be a player for the national team of Portugal,” he says.
“Every day I want more. I'm a player that is very thankful for the things that I have in the present but I'm always looking forward because we can always reach something bigger. What I believe is that if you focus on the present then good things will come in the future.
“I think the squad will change a bit because a generation is coming to the end. Of course there is a lot of quality still, and the old players give a lot of experience to the team, which is very important in the big tournaments like the World Cup, but I think there will be more opportunity for other players and I'm fighting to have my place there.”