Why Tottenham Must Allow Fernando Llorente To Leave In The Summer
As per a report from the Daily Mirror, Fernando Llorente is considering leaving Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old left Swansea City for Spurs at the start of the season but has been a frustrated figure on the bench. The main question arises here: Should Tottenham allow Llorente to leave this summer?
The Lilywhites beat London rivals Chelsea to the Spaniard’s signature in the summer, signing him for £12.1m, but Llorente has only made one Premier League start, scoring just once in 15 appearances in the league this season. Interestingly, his only goal in the league came against his former employers, Swansea City, where Spurs won 2-0 in early January.
Llorente has a hat-trick to his name against Rochdale in the FA Cup. However, barring that, the towering Spaniard has royally failed to make any impact for the North London outfit.
When Harry Kane injured his ankle at Bournemouth, it was Erik Lamela who came on and not Llorente. The 33-year-old has not inspired much confidence when given a chance by Mauricio Pochettino.
Although the Spaniard has failed to dislodge Kane as the club’s first-choice striker, it comes as a surprise that Llorente has had hardly any impact in his first season so far at Tottenham.
Not so long ago, Llorente was one of the most in-demand and fearsome strikers in Europe. He was a part of the Athletic Bilbao side that terrorised teams in the Europa League, most notably dumping Manchester United out of the competition in 2012.
After spending 12 years with Bilbao, Llorente joined Juventus on a free transfer and impressed in his debut campaign, with 16 goals in the league. However, his form faded in the second season and following Max Allegri’s appointment, the Spaniard left for Sevilla.
At Sevilla, the striker failed to nail down a regular place in the starting XI and after just a season, he joined Swansea in 2016. With 15 goals in 33 league appearances, he helped Swansea keep their Premier League status.
However, since moving to Tottenham, Llorente has found opportunities hard to come by, with Harry Kane scoring goals left, right and centre.
It is understandable as to why the Spaniard has failed to make an impression at the club and one just cannot simply criticise the former Bilbao man.
In all fairness, the North Londoners must allow Llorente to leave the club in summer with the 33-year-old previously hinting a return to Bilbao – the club which played a major role in his rise to prominence in Europe.