Fernando Llorente is a triple Serie A winner, a Europa League winner, was a member of Spain’s legendary World Cup and European Championship winning squads, and this time last season was providing the goals to keep Swansea City in the Premier League.
But the 24-cap international has barely made a mark since signing for Tottenham Hotspur last summer, going on to score just two goals across all competitions, and suddenly appears a shadow of the threat that mustered up 15 strikes in the Premier League for a relegation-threatened side throughout 2016/17. The consequential question is obvious – why?
The notion that Llorente isn’t good enough for a club of Tottenham’s stature remains painfully simplistic. Llorente has consistently scored goals in Spain, Italy and Germany and at international level. Furthermore, Mauricio Pochettino is no fool – he clearly saw something in Llorente that would be of crucial use to this Tottenham team this season, to the extent that the club made exception from their usual template of investing in young players with obvious resale value to sign the veteran front-man at a cost of £12million.
There must be more something more systematic at work than Llorente apparently flattering to deceive throughout a hugely successful career, only to be found out at Tottenham Hotspur.
Of course, Llorente hasn’t been afforded a wealth of game-time, with his only two full ninety minutes for the Lilywhites thus far coming against Champions League whipping boys APOEL and League Two’s Newport County. All strikers are confidence players to some extent and the Spaniard hasn’t received enough minutes this season to build up his self-belief through a decent run of form.
But even so, considering the quality of opposition he’s faced – Barnsley, AFC Wimbledon and Rochdale – and the number of substitute appearances he’s made in the Premier League, 13, two goals in 20 appearances is an incredibly modest return. Compare that to someone like Michy Batshuayi, who scored 19 goals in 18 months while playing a similar bit-part role at Chelsea.
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Yet, it’s clear Llorente needs a very specific type of service. Seven of his 15 goals last season were headed goals, the joint-highest return of any striker in the division, and the former Bilbao man has always been an incredibly static striker – even more so at the age of 32. He’s not so much a target man who bullies centre-backs to bring others into the game as he is a poacher who uses his head rather than his feet.
Unlike Swansea last season, who essentially had no option, Tottenham can’t allow their game to become so one-dimensional, based on highlighting the strengths and hiding the weaknesses of one player, even if he is a centre-forward.
However, even though Tottenham’s game doesn’t centre around aerial bombardment, they’re actually the most prolific crossers in the Premier League, averaging two per match more than any side in the division this season.
Considering the personnel, that’s hardly a surprise either; Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies, Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose all average at least one accurate cross per match when in Tottenham’s starting XI. That’s more than enough service for Llorente to feed off, even if he’s only featuring sparingly from the bench.
And thus, we come to the true reality of the situation, the white elephant yet to be addressed – Harry Kane. To label Tottenham a one-man team would be grossly unfair, but it’s certainly true that they’ve become intrinsically dependent on Kane’s goals – his 24 this season represent the highest contribution to a team’s overall goals, a whopping 45%, of any Premier League player this season.
He’s Tottenham’s focal point and leaves impossibly large shoes to fill whenever Llorente is asked to replace him; suddenly, the difference to the team becomes glaringly prevalent as an ageing front-man does his best to imitate the best striker in Europe.
That leaves Tottenham facing a significantly pivotal question; can any striker perform to something close to the best of their abilities when they’re an understudy to Kane? Vincent Janssen struggled last season too and it was the pressure that got to the Dutchman more than the increased demands of Premier League football compared to the Eredivisie; had one of those many point-blank chances to score found the net, he may well have gone on to enjoy a far more successful first campaign in north London.
But that’s precisely the point – there’s so much focus on Kane that it creates an inevitably pejorative comparison with any striker who tries to compete with him for game-time, and puts too much pressure on them to score during the rare minutes they do receive. No matter who Tottenham bring in, whether they have Janssen’s potential or Llorente’s experience, they will always struggle to overcome that burden.
However, that’s not to say Llorente can’t contribute in other ways, which is perhaps why Pochettino brought him to Tottenham despite knowing he would struggle to provide a consistent supply of goals. As Tottenham further progress in the Champions League, the experience of a player with 64 appearances in European competition under his belt could prove vital – in the dressing room, on the training ground and from the bench.
And perhaps that’s the answer to finding Kane’s understudy; a forward who adds something other than goals to the team – the England international’s got that covered already – whether that’s bringing a new dimension to the attack or providing experience and leadership in the dressing room.
In that sense, Llorente’s performing his role this season perfectly, but it nonetheless feels a failed move for a player who arrived at Tottenham with such a decorated CV.