Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente wants to stay with the club.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente has told the London Evening Standard that he intends to stay with the club amid speculation about his future.
Spurs needed a striker to compete with Harry Kane last summer, and they struck a deal to land Llorente from Swansea City, and the move appeared to be perfect for Mauricio Pochettino.
The Spaniard had hit 15 goals in his first ever Premier League season with the Swans, and then at 32, he wouldn’t really expect to play a key role with a top side at this stage in his career.
However, Llorente struggled in his first campaign with Spurs, as he scored just five goals in 30 games, and started only one Premier League game as he failed to convince Pochettino.
Son Heung-min was even picked to start in attack ahead of Llorente when Kane went down with injury, and many felt that the writing was on the wall for the target man this summer.
The London Evening Standard even recently claimed that Spurs were making Llorente available for transfer, in the hope of recouping money to go and spend on other targets this summer.
Llorente did though respond with two goals in the recent 4-1 friendly win over Roma, underlining just how dangerous he can be in front of goal if given proper service.
Now, Llorente has told the London Evening Standard that he feels good with Spurs and is committed to the cause, explaining that he wants to stay with the club – even if being a bit-part player isn’t easy, and he needs to change his mindset this season to be a success with Tottenham.
“Yes. I feel very good here and I would like to help the team more than last year and try to score more goals,” said Llorente. “Last year I started with my arm broken and it was difficult for me. Now I am trying to get an opportunity to play games in pre-season. I feel very good physically. And I don’t have any [injury] problems. I’m 33 but I’m good!”
“When you don’t play every week, it’s difficult to be fit. It’s not easy but I know the situation. Harry is an unbelievable player and he wants to play and always score two or three. It’s good for the team and I only have to be ready when my opportunity is coming. Normally at other clubs, I’m playing and it’s easy for be to be fit every week but the situation here is different, so I have to change my mindset, stay strong and keep working because I think I can help the team at important moments this season,” he added.
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