Tottenham Hotspur have signed a player after going a season without signing a new player as they wrapped up the signing of Tanguy Ndombélé for a club record fee of £54 million, while they have also signed highly-rated Leeds United player Jack Clarke, who has been loaned back to Leeds.
We could see Spurs signing a few more players before the start of the 2019-20 Premier League season, and now, they have surprisingly been linked with a former player of theirs – Fernando Llorente.
The Guardian are reporting that Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino could re-sign the experienced Spanish striker, who was let go by the club after his contract with the club expired on June 30. The report also states that Spurs could offer him a lesser salary than the £100,000 he was earning previously.
Llorente scored 13 goals in 66 appearances for Spurs in his two seasons with the club, often playing second fiddle to Spurs’ star striker Harry Kane.
The 34-year-old signed from Swansea City in 2017 for £12.1 million after having a stellar first season in Premier League football where he scored 15 goals.
A surprising yet smart decision to re-sign Fernando Llorente
Llorente did reasonably well for a backup option at Spurs, and despite his age, could be a useful player. The tall, physical striker can be a handful for defenders, and his height and heading ability is a very useful option for any team.
The striker won an average of 2.7 headers in 20 games for Spurs last season while competing for a total of 5.2 headers.
Pochettino needs another striker apart from Harry Kane, which makes the signing of Llorente a sensible one, considering he knows the club and would also be a free transfer.
Spurs used Lucas Moura as a striker, and even though he scored some crucial goals – most notably the goals against Ajax – he is not a natural centre-forward.
The future of another Spurs striker, Vincent Janssen is up in the air, but it’s likely that he will see the exit door after failing to make any sort of impact or get many opportunities under Pochettino.
A one-year deal for Llorente would be a very smart signing as Spurs compete for silverware once again in the 2019-20 season.
