Fernando Llorente deal shows Tottenham’s pulling power, despite Danny Rose’s doubts last month

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Tottenham’s deal for Fernando Llorente is more of a coup than first thought.

Tottenham Hotspur completed two major signings on deadline day, as Serge Aurier and Fernando Llorente joined from Paris Saint-Germain and Swansea City respectively, boosting Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

Ivorian international right back Aurier was seen as a huge coup given his performances for PSG in recent years, but the deal to sign Llorente should also be considered as an important move for Tottenham.

The 32-year-old striker hit 15 goals for Swansea last season, and on the face of it, he offers Pochettino a much bigger goal threat behind Harry Kane than Vincent Janssen did last season.

Digging a little deeper, Llorente’s move to North London is an important deal for Tottenham, both because of his pedigree and the fact that Spurs had to fend off Premier League competition for his signature.

Chelsea had made a move for Llorente on deadline day, but the striker ended up at Spurs – and fans should certainly appreciate that Tottenham were able to convince him to sign, given that he had every reason to head to West London.

Llorente’s former Juventus boss Antonio Conte had been seeking a reunion, whilst joining the Premier League champions would also have been appealing, and his role at Chelsea – most likely behind Alvaro Morata – would have been very similar to his role at Tottenham, supporting Kane.

Additionally, Llorente has won three Serie A titles, the Europa League, the World Cup and the European Championships over the course of his career, bringing great pedigree to a young, inexperienced side that haven’t been able to turn strong performances into trophies.

Last month, Tottenham left back Danny Rose suggested to The Sun that he wanted Spurs to sign players that didn’t have to be Googled before becoming his team-mate, and Llorente certainly fits that bill given the trophies he has won in recent years, showing the pulling power that Spurs do in fact hold.

Ultimately, the draw for Llorente to pick Tottenham over Chelsea may well have been Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is one of Europe’s most popular and highly-rated coaches, and fans should be delighted that he managed to convince a proven winner like Llorente to join Spurs over reuniting with his former boss on deadline day.