Fernando Llorente could provide Jose Mourinho a massive boost at Tottenham
Fernando Llorente couldn’t cement his place at Tottenham for Mauricio Pochettino, but he could really help Jose Mourinho at Spurs.
Tottenham were quite happy to let Fernando Llorente leave this summer when managed by Mauricio Pochettino. However, Jose Mourinho’s arrival in North London could easily pave the way for the Spanish veteran to return to Spurs.
According to Football Italia, officials at Napoli and Tottenham are at least discussing the idea of Llorente returning to England on loan. No deal is imminent, but there’s enough smoke here to discuss the potential impact of Llorente’s return.
The tall striker had some moments of quality at Tottenham the first time around, but he struggled to make a consistent impact up front for Pochettino. On several occasions the Argentine gaffer chose to play Heung-Min Son as a striker instead of giving Llorente a run of games up front. That was a clear sign of Pochettino’s disenchantment with Llorente.
Mourinho’s arrival at Tottenham would change everything for Llorente if he chooses to return to the club. Harry Kane‘s injury leaves Spurs entirely devoid of senior players that Mourinho believes are fit to play the striker position. It’s more than just the lack of other options that would make Llorente a success this time around though.
Instead, Spurs supporters should focus on the difference in how Tottenham would to play under Mourinho as opposed to his predecessor. Mainly, Mourinho wants his team to play a lot more directly in attack. That makes the presence of a true target man like Llorente a much more valuable asset.
None of this means that Llorente is going to return to Tottenham and key them to an unlikely top four finish. At best, he can serve as an average Premier League striker in Kane’s absence. That’s still quite a bit more than Spurs have up front at the moment.
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Llorente would allow Mourinho to simplify his attacking tactics and focus on more complex defensive philosophies. Defenders at Tottenham would suddenly have an outlet to play the ball to from anywhere on the pitch. Spurs fans shouldn’t underestimate just how much that could help lessen the mental strain on their players. Llorente returning to North London could do wonders for Mourinho’s squad.