According to the reports in the Sun, Leeds United are eyeing a move for out of favour Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente. The 33-year-old had previously played under Marcelo Bielsa when they were together at Athletic Bilbao. Pochettino also shares a good relationship with Bielsa; therefore, we believe this move can go through if the Whites are really keen on it.
It is believed that Spurs are willing to let him leave on a cut-price deal in January for £4m as the forward has entered the final year of his contract The Spaniard has endured a tough time at North London and the player recently opened up about his frustrating stint so far.
He said(Via The Sun),”It is never easy to cope with (Not playing regularly). It is a daily struggle with myself, as I find it hard to accept the situation I am in. It is frustrating to be left on the bench or not be called up. I try to put myself in the manager’s shoes. He has a difficult task, as we have a big squad and we all want to play. There is a lot of competition in attack. Harry Kane is a phenomenal player, and that makes it difficult for me to play regularly.”
As Llorente himself mentioned, with Kane available, not many strikers in the world would be able to topple him from his place in the first eleven. Plus the English striker is supremely fit and hardly gets injured therefore the Spaniard has had very limited game time so far.
Llorente would be a proper target man and even though he is 33, he can still provide the cutting edge in the final third which the Whites have lacked so far in the last month. However, given that he is on the wrong side of the thirties, it seems very unlike Bielsa who is known to be keen on working with youngsters. Patrick Bamford is also set to be available somewhere around January and spending £4m odd on Llorente would be a luxury signing.
We do feel the Spain international would be an upgrade over the likes of Kemar Roofe and Tyler Roberts but the club should probably have other priorities first in the transfer market. When Roofe and Bamford both were out injured, Tyler Roberts did go on to show some positive signs and showed that he could fill in when required.
Fans would definitely want to see such a high profile signing coming through, and the Whites could be well placed to sign him given Bielsa’s presence. However, that is exactly what could go against the club as the manager doesn’t seem too keen (Leeds Live) on January signings at the moment. Even if any signings go through, we believe defence is the area where the club might look for a reinforcement.
