Ipswich Town are closing in on a deal to sign Burnley midfielder Florentino Luis on a permanent move, GIVEMESPORT sources understand.

The Tractor Boys have had a major summer of change after manager Kieran McKenna stepped down following a third promotion in four seasons at the helm, helping the team back to the Premier League. Gary O’Neil was brought in as his replacement, and the club have so far made eight first-team signings, including deals for striker Emerson, forward Daizen Maeda, and goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.

But the club are still keen to make more additions before the Premier League season starts in three weeks, and the club are now close to a new addition in midfield.

Sources: Ipswich Close to Florentino Deal

Action Images via Reuters

Luis, who has been described as ‘exceptional’, joined Burnley on loan with an obligation to buy from Benfica last summer, with the club agreeing to pay around £20m overall.

The Portuguese midfielder made 31 appearances in the Premier League as the club fell down to the Championship following a disappointing campaign, but he is now set to depart the club for a return to the top flight.

GIVEMESPORT sources understand that Ipswich are close to agreeing a deal to bring the combative midfielder to Portman Road for a fee in the region of £17m. Ipswich are now working on agreeing personal terms with the player, before a medical will be scheduled.

GIVEMESPORT understands that newly-promoted side Hull City have also been in advanced talks over a deal for the 26-year-old, but they are now out of the race and will pursue alternative targets.

Luis had previously made 183 appearances for Benfica before making the move to England, where he won two league titles.

Ipswich Strengthening for 26/27 Season

Ipswich have had a busy window so far, and the expectation is that they will be pushing to battle against relegation in better fashion than they did two seasons ago.

The club have spent around £85m so far to bring in eight players across a number of positions. Abdul Fatawu, Cedric Kipre, Chuba Akpom, and Issa Diop all have previous Premier League experience, while Emerson, Scherpen, and Maeda all have experience at the highest level.

The squad is stronger than last season, and there is expected to be more to come before the September 1st deadline, with Luis now looking likely to arrive.

WWE is no stranger to long-tenured wrestlers throughout its history, the longest being The Undertaker, who competed from 1990 to 2020. As an active wrestler, Triple H spent 25 years in the squared circle, including his time as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Kane went from 1997 to 2021 (though Glenn Jacobs debuted as Isaac Yankem in 1995).

Of the current roster, Randy Orton is the flag bearer, debuting in 2002. He was alongside John Cena, but after her retired at the end of 2025, The Viper is the longest-serving active WWE Superstar right now.

With Cena having wrestled, and lost, his final WWE PLE match of his career at Survivor Series 2025, below is a look at the top 20 Superstars to have lost the most times in PPV/PLEs, according to wrestlingdata.com.

10

John Cena

Losses: 73

Cena’s intermittent appearances since 2017 have potentially saved him a lot more losses and a spot further up the list, though, his 14 years as a full-timer involved enough defeats to put him 10th.

On the PPV/PLE stage, Cena is best known for his WrestleMania tussles with The Rock; the first at WrestleMania 28 earned one of the 17-time champ’s 73 losses on the big stage. Most of his losses on such an occasion came courtesy of Randy Orton, as since their duel debut their careers have been intertwined with each other, most recently at 2025’s Backlash. His contemporaries when at a paid event also include Edge, Batista, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker, who pinned Cena in under five minutes in their WrestleMania 34 squash match.

9

Rey Mysterio

Losses: 74

The biggest little man in the history of sports entertainment debuted in 2002 after the collapse of WCW. Mysterio‘s size has been a contributing factor to defeat 74 times.

He is best known for his high-profile rivalry with Eddie Guerrero, which included a match for the custody of his son, Dominik, in a ladder match at SummerSlam 2005. The two-time world heavyweight champion’s most consistent opponents on PPV/PLE are those of Kurt Angle and former friend and foe, Batista. Other foes include: The Undertaker, Kane, Cody Rhodes, R Truth, and Chris Jericho.

8

Kofi Kingston

Losses: 79

A 17-year veteran who has suffered 79 losses on PPV, Kingston is an exception as many of those shortcomings have come in tag team matches, but he has also had his fair share of singles matches that haven’t gone his way.

In singles competition, he lost to the likes of Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, and Dolph Ziggler. Such losses made Kingston’s 2019 run, which culminated in him becoming WWE Champion after defeating Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35, all the more satisfying.

7

Dolph Ziggler

Losses: 82

The Show-Off has had plenty of rivalries that have had their blow off at a marquee event. All credit to Ziggler, many have been for a mid-card championship, like the Intercontinental or United States Championship.

Though he has come up short to the likes of Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, and Seth Rollins on the same stage, Ziggler should be held in high regard as a PPV and PLE specialist, given the amount of such he has appeared at.

6

Triple H

Losses: 83

The reason for the legendary Triple H being so high on the list can be somewhat pointed to his 10-14 record at WrestleMania, three of which were to The Undertaker.

HHH competed in 105 title matches on the biggest stages, and though he became a 14-time champion, he was defeated by the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan, The Rock, and Batista in front of the big crowds.

5

Chris Jericho

Losses: 88

Stuck on 88 losses is multiple-time champion Chris Jericho, who has had loads of high-profile rivalries that resulted in a match at a big event.

These include Shawn Michaels, Edge, The Undertaker, John Cena, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens. His championship matches totalled 43, but 24 of his total number of defeats came in such tussles. He also holds a negative WrestleMania record of 5-8.

4

The Big Show

Losses: 89

In his 143 matches, The Big Show has been defeated a fair few times on such occasions, by the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar.

Though he only came out on the right side of PPV/PLE’s 52 times, Big Show can take pride in the fact that the matches he did lose and those who did best him were of the highest calibre, having also had a number of title matches himself.

3

The Miz

Losses: 99

A wildcard entry for many, The Miz has been a part of WWE since 2006, and has competed in 150 PPV/PLE matches. The Intercontinental Championship scene was his kingdom for a number of years, and for a period of time in 2010-11 it was the main event scene.

Many of his PPV/PLE losses have come as a result of him losing those titles. At 2011’s Extreme Rules, he lost the WWE title in a steel cage match, which also involved John Morrison, to John Cena. At WrestleMania 34, in a triple threat match also with Finn Balor, he lost the Intercontinental title to Seth Rollins.

2

Randy Orton

Losses: 110

Given he has been a constant full-time competitor, it’s no surprise to see The Viper so high on the list, accumulating 110 losses in his many years with the company.

His list of conquerors includes a who’s who of legendary Superstars; The Undertaker, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio, and Kane to name a few, and even one to Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2006.

The 14-time champion has had over 190 matches at a PPV or PLE.

1

Kane

Losses: 110

The total number of PPV/PLE matches for The Big Red Machine is 187, also with a WrestleMania record of 8-1, many of which have been with his kayfabe brother, The Undertaker. The first came in Kane’s first appearance at Bad Blood 1997 and also included WrestleMania 14 and 20, along with Hell in a Cell 2010. Out of those tussles, the tally is 2-1 to The Deadman.

The Devil’s Favourite Demon, though not best known for them, can also say that he has been in a respectable number of PPV/PLE title matches, and a vast majority of those he has tasted defeat against have a claim to be on the Mount Rushmore of WWE.

Triple H has revealed who he believes had a ‘career-defining’ moment following an action-packed SummerSlam in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this past weekend.

There were title changes and twists galore across the weekend and a number of WWE stars made their presence known with returns or career-making performances.

Following the Night 1 main event inside Hell in a Cell, we saw Brock Lesnar pass the torch to Oba Femi in what could be The Beast Incarnate’s final match in the company. The following night, Chad Gable tearfully picked up his first WWE singles title after defeating Penta for the Intercontinental Championship after a decade with the company.

Following the event, however, WWE CCO Triple H was asked about who he believes defined their career at SummerSlam, and he was struggling to nail down just one name, but he didn’t mention any of the above.

Triple H’s Picks For Career-Defining Moments at WWE SummerSlam

Nick Aldis made his WWE in-ring debut on Saturday when he took on Gunther in an intense technical clash. Aldis was a successful in-ring competitor with TNA before becoming the on-screen GM of SmackDown. Aldis had been feuding with Gunther for a number of months before returning to the ring in an impressive showcase that ended in a narrow submission loss for the British star.

Triple H continued with his reflection and highlighted Kevin Owens for his shock return and victory to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship during the opening match of Night 2.

“And it wasn’t like he was out there holding back; it wasn’t like he was out there trying to take it easy. That was Kevin Owens in all his glory, and he delivered on it. Which now puts him in the driver’s seat. And after last night, immediately makes me think about Kevin Owens and CM Punk. And there is a lot of history there. A lot that people have seen, and believe me, a lot of history that is behind the scenes. That is going to be an epic encounter that I can’t wait to see.”

Triple H also mentioned another name that he believes deserves their flowers for their performance during the event.

“From there, Chelsea Green. When you get into that ladder match, and you’ve got a lot of dangerous people; Lash Legend, just a powerhouse, Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair. There are a lot of heavy hitters in there and for her to be in the position at the end of that thing to climb that ladder and take down the WWE Women’s Championship, that is a career-defining moment.

Chelsea Green won the interim Women’s Championship in front of the raucous Minneapolis crowd to pick up the first world title of her career.

With multiple big changes to the WWE landscape, the Monday Night Raw taping in Des Moines, Iowa, tonight is set to start a number of fresh storylines for these newly crowned stars.