Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has limited attacking options ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig this evening.
Jose Mourinho’s comments suggest that he feels Fernando Llorente could have been a good option for Tottenham Hotspur at the moment.
Speaking to Football London at his latest press conference, Mourinho was asked whether Lucas Moura could have a similar impact for Tottenham this evening as he did in last season’s Champions League semi-final.
On that occasion Moura came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Tottenham miraculously came from behind to beat Ajax.
However, when asked whether he felt Lucas could perform similar heroics later, Mourinho suggested that the Brazilian would find it difficult without Llorente in the same team.
“Without Llorente. If you want to put the long balls in the box then we cannot do it that way, we have to try to do it in another,” Mourinho admitted about the £15 million striker (Goal).
“I think if we are waiting for the last 15, 20 minutes of the game to have a direct approach and put the ball in the box and to try from second balls, and be dominant in the box, I don’t think that is how we can do it.”
The comments are particularly interesting as Llorente was actually linked with a return to Tottenham in January.
Llorente was let go by Mauricio Pochettino, after Spurs failed to agree a contract with him over the summer.
The Independent claims that Spurs were keen to bring Llorente back from Napoli at the start of the year, but no deal materialised.
Mourinho has, instead, been forced to muddle through with a lack of striking options, with Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane both out injured.
The Portuguese boss’s latest words are the clearest indication yet that Llorente may well have been an appealing addition to him, even to use as a late substitute.
Tottenham need to turn the tie around this evening, as they are 1-0 behind against Leipzig after the first leg.
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