Fernando Llorente should never play for Tottenham again
Fernando Llorente may be a nice man, but there’s nothing about his play on the pitch that merits another appearance in a Tottenham shirt.
Vincent Janssen doesn’t have a squad number at Tottenham, but he isn’t the worst striker at Spurs. That honour goes to Fernando Llorente. His FA Cup appearance against Watford should be the last time Tottenham fans are forced to see him play for their club.
Llorente may well be a terrific person off the pitch, but he doesn’t give Mauricio Pochettino’s squad on the field of play. He arrived at Spurs with a reputation of being an excellent goal scorer. Specifically, his history of dominating opponents through the air made him an interesting backup for Harry Kane.
Unfortunately, he’s lost all confidence since arriving in North London. He now lacks the ability to put away clean headers in the box. That was readily apparent against Watford this week. He came on as a second half substitute with his team needing a goal and he blew a golden chance in the box. It may seem harsh to advocate his banishment due to one missed opportunity, but that’s not what we’re doing. His miss against the Hornets was just Llorente’s last straw.
Some fans will argue that Spurs don’t have another classic striker in the squad. They’re right. Kane and Llorente are the only prototypical number nines available for selection. That doesn’t mean Llorente is the best player to put on the pitch in Kane’s absence though. That honour should go to Heung-Min Son, Lucas Moura or even Erik Lamela. None of those three stars play the striker position in a classical sense, but they’re all three more of a threat than Llorente.
Perhaps if Llorente was capable of contributing anything other than goals to the squad we would view his involvement differently. His complete lack of pace makes him a liability when he’s trying to do anything other than head the ball into the net. His rare appearances at Tottenham have made it clear he’s an awful fit for the way Pochettino wants his squad to play.
Next. Tottenham can survive without Serge Aurier. dark
It’s time for Llorente to play his football somewhere else. Hopefully Spurs can find a new club for him in January. If he stays at Tottenham for the rest of the season he’ll only be collecting wages he doesn’t deserve.