The Tottenham Hotspur forward has barely featured this season.
When Tottenham Hotspur signed Fernando Llorente for £15million from Swansea City last summer (BBC), it seemed as though Mauricio Pochettino’s side had finally bought the quality additional striker they needed to ensure they had cover for top-scorer Harry Kane.
Any forward joining Spurs right now will know they are very much second choice, and so it proved with the Spaniard, who has managed only 80 minutes in the Premier League (spread over seven matches) along with Champions League and EFL Cup football to date.
The problem is that if Llorente, who scored 15 goals in the league last season and is vastly experienced both domestically and in Europe, is settling in for a bit-part role, what chance do Tottenham have of attracting future strikers to North London when their chance of regular starts is severely limited?
In a way it is a great problem to have. After all, as long as Kane is fit and available, Tottenham have one of the best strikers in the world and no need to worry about an alternative.
But that may not always be the case, and at some point Spurs need to start thinking about signing another forward who can ease the pressure on a player who cannot be expected to do it all on his own.
Llorente was willing to take on that role this season but he would have no doubt expected more minutes than he has managed, and it will be interesting to see who Tottenham target in the years ahead.
A hungry young talent is the way to go, but even they will want some guarantees that they will be given the opportunities to blossom as Kane did before them.
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