Fernando Llorente looks set to return to Spurs after the club offered him a new one-year deal on reduced terms (Daily Mail).
The Spaniard was on £100,000 per week at Tottenham last season, but now it is being reported he will have to take a pay cut if he wishes to return to the Champions League finalists.
He was used for two seasons as the back-up striker to Harry Kane although did make a total of 66 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 13 and assisting six.
While not the greatest of returns, his role in helping Spurs overcome Ajax in the Champions League final was praised by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, showing the merits the Spanish World Cup-winner has to his game when deployed as a target man.
‘What a substitution he was,” said the former Manchester United man (via HITC).
“He went and stood on Daley Blind the whole game when came on and they pumped balls into him. Daley Blind couldn’t deal with him, and then the boys, they came up behind Llorente and they produced the goods
However, there is still some doubt about his future given the 34-year-old has not joined Mauricio Pochettino’s squad on their tour of Asia and there is still some interest from Serie A side Fiorentina.
One of the downsides of the former Swansea City man, since he has been at Spurs, has been that he has not scored a great number of goals – just two in two seasons in the Premier League.
However, he gives Spurs the ability to play in a different kind of way – in a more direct manner given his physical presence.
This is supported by the fact that he won an average of 2.7 aerials per game in the league last season, compared with Kane who managed just 1.8.
In addition, Heung-min Son, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Lucas Moura produced a combined total of 52 goals last season, so it isn’t as if the north London outfit are short of goals coming from elsewhere.
And with the potential additions of Nicolo Zaniolo and Giovani Lo Celso still yet to be added to their squad, Llorente would provide a useful, alternative way of playing to the number of attacking midfielders they have at their disposal.
A new contract for a striker not known for being prolific in front of goal may not excite supporters as much as the signing of Tanguy Ndombele, but it has the potential to benefit Pochettino’s men greatly.
Tottenham fans, do you want to see Llorente back at the club? Join the discussion by commenting below…
