West Ham United are allegedly still thinking about a move for Fernando Llorente.
According to the Daily Star, West Ham United are still considering launching a move for Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente this summer.
Llorente, 34, is out of contract at the end of the month, and with Spurs missing the deadline to take up the one-year option on his deal, he looks set to move on.
The Spaniard hasn’t quite lived up to expectations since his 2017 move from Swansea City, but he has shown this season that he’s still a useful striker, and it would be little surprise to see another Premier League club snap him up.
Whilst West Ham are focusing on Maxi Gomez, it’s claimed that they’re still thinking about targeting Llorente on a free transfer as a backup target.
There are mixed signals emerging about Gomez. The Daily Star claim that West Ham will return with a new bid for the Celta Vigo goalscorer, but he wants a move to Valencia. Conversely, Fichajes in Spain claim Gomez has an agreement in place with West Ham, and the clubs just need to agree a fee.
That uncertainty means that West Ham need to consider alternatives, and whilst he may have been a forgotten name in the mix, it seems that Llorente is a player that is still very much on the West Ham radar.
Manuel Pellegrini and Mario Husillos will be familiar with Llorente from his outstanding spell with Athletic Bilbao, but it’s seven years since he left the Basque club, and he’s clearly not the same player by any stretch of the imagination.
West Ham fans won’t want to think about signing Llorente on a free instead of a big money move for Gomez. Gomez is the kind of statement signing West Ham need in attack, whereas Llorente feels like more of an Andy Carroll replacement – and supporters may hope it doesn’t come to the stage of offering the veteran Spaniard a contract.
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