Fernando Llorente has admitted he “would love to go back” to Spain, after admitting it’s “not easy” being limited to so few appearances at Tottenham Hotspur. The 33-year-old has been short of form and playing time since his 2017 move from Swansea City and could be on the move next summer as he’s out of contract.
Llorente has made just 37 appearances in all competitions in the last 15 months, scoring and creating eight goals. The striker has only started 11 games under Mauricio Pochettino, with Harry Kane and Heung-min Son preferred in attack and admitted that it can be difficult to keep training despite knowing he’s not going to play.
Llorente told Spanish outlet Sport (h/t The Sun): “I’ve been away from home for many years, I’d love to go back to the Spanish league. I came in and things went well, so I’m happy to have helped the team. I hope I continue to have opportunities, it’s important for me because it gives me the confidence to keep working. It’s not easy when you do not play because mentally you have to be very strong to continue training hard.”
The Spanish international, who has scored seven goals in 24 games for his country, has been away from La Liga for two years. His career started at Athletic Bilbao where he made over 320 appearances in all competitions. Llorente spent over 10 years with Athletic, scoring more than 100 goals, before moving to Juventus in 2013.
He spent two years in Turin before returning to Spain with Seville, but his time with the Liga side was shortlived, resulting in him moving to the Premier League in 2016 for Swansea City. His comments to Sport suggest he could consider returning to Spain in the summer of 2019.