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Tottenham can’t be fooled by Fernando Llorente’s hat trick

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Fernando Llorente of Tottenham celebrates after scoring his team's third goal of the game during The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round Replay match between Tottenham Hotspur and Rochdale on February 28, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Fernando Llorente of Tottenham celebrates after scoring his team's third goal of the game during The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round Replay match between Tottenham Hotspur and Rochdale on February 28, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Fernando Llorente still isn’t good enough for Tottenham

It’s all well and good that Fernando Llorente managed to score three goals for Tottenham yesterday, but it doesn’t change anything about his long-term future in North London. The venerable Spaniard is still not a strong enough option to serve as Harry Kane’s backup moving forward.

Llorente was arguably the Man of the Match for Spurs’ 6-1 romp over Rochdale in the FA Cup. In truth, it was just the sort of performance that Mauricio Pochettino and company hoped they’d see on a regular basis when the striker arrived on Deadline Day last summer. The sad reality is that this was probably Llorente’s first above average performance in a Spurs shirt.

Some pundits even game the gangly striker a perfect 10 player rating for his goal scoring bonanza. I wouldn’t go quite that far. He did show off some excellent finishing ability, but he still lacks the mobility to thrive in Pochettino’s system. In short, he did the best he could to perform admirably against Rochdale.

The quality of the opponent can’t be ignored when evaluating Llorente’s play. Rochdale did well to force the replay at Wembley, but they thoroughly lack anything resembling Premier League quality players. In particular, their back line looks more like a Sunday league side than a Champions League group.

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I say all that, not to diminish Rochdale, but to put some real perspective on Llorente’s outing. It’s nice that he managed to score a few goals to boost his confidence, but this doesn’t really change anything. He still can’t be trusted to play any meaningful match time in relief of Harry Kane. The thought of deploying them as a starter against Juventus, Chelsea or another top drawer opponent is frightening to say the least.

Spurs still need to make sure that purchasing a new striker is one of their top summer priorities. Reo Griffiths may ultimately be the club’s next big centre forward, but he’s too young to rely on next year. Tottenham will once again need to wade into the complex summer transfer market to try to find a player willing to serve as Kane’s understudy who is still talented enough to play against big teams.

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Perhaps Llorente can find a positive run of form that can serve Spurs well, but he simply lacks the ability to fill the role of Kane’s backup at this point in his career. Pochettino and company can’t be fooled by one productive match from their Spanish centre forward.

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