Will Swansea’s Negredo move greenlight transfer of Llorente?

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Swansea City are in talks with Valencia stirker Alvaro Negredo, which could give permission for Fernando Llorente to leave the club.

Ex-Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo is in talks with a return to the Premier League, with Swansea City reported by Wales Online as the party interesting in securing a deal for the Valencia man.

Negredo, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Beast’ due to his immense physical abilities, won the Premier League with Manchester City in 2014 and was an important figure before injuries struck, hitting a respectable 9 goals for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

He spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough – but he couldn’t prevent the Teesiders from relegation into the Championship.

The Spanish striker still proved he had plenty to offer though, scoring nine goals in his 36 Premier League appearances last campaign, including a ruthless double against The Swans.

A surprise move for the ex-Spanish international signifies manager Paul Clement’s desire to strengthen his attacking options after looking increasingly limited in that area during the 2016/17 campaign.

As such, the highly-rated Tammy Abraham has been brought in on-loan from Chelsea to bolster the centre-forward possibilities with the South-Wales club still linked with other strikers such as ex-fan favourite Wilfried Bony.

None of Negredo, Abraham, or current number one choice Fernando Llorente will want to be either second or third choice in the pecking order, which opens the door for an exit for the latter.

Premier League Champions Chelsea have been strongly linked with singing the 2010 World Cup winner, with Antonio Conte reportedly also looking for striking alternatives with the departure of Diego Costa becoming progressively likely.

With 32-year-old Llorente’s price tag a massive £30m, selling him and utilising that money as an investment for a long-term project under Clement could be a sensible decision.

Although, the City faithful will undoubtedly be reluctant to lose a player who scored 15 goals in last season’s Premier League and massively endeared himself to the fans in the process.