With the injury to England striker Harry Kane, it has almost given Fernando Llorente a second wind at Tottenham Hotspur and whilst it’s fair to say the 33-year-old obviously isn’t a guaranteed starter now, and he certainly splits the fans, he’s making a fair old fist of things at the moment.
In 20 total appearances so far this year, he has contributed seven goals across all competitions and he does have three goals in the last six matches.
On the back of his first Champions League goal of the season against Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16 clash last midweek, Llorente was interviewed by Sky Sports following the match and he revealed that leaving hadn’t crossed his mind despite the second fiddle status he plays in manager Mauricio Pochettino’s first team plans.
“The truth is I’m very satisfied here in Spurs, I haven’t thought about leaving. I’m at a great club, I still have a contract, and my intention is to win trophies here. Right now, I’m enjoying a good moment, and I hope I can keep scoring goals and everything keeps going well. The important thing is to help whenever I’m called upon, and keep working hard.”
Whether he has or hasn’t pondered a departure given some of the speculation we see is open to debate, but it again clearly shows the spirit fostered within the group as even if he does have some problems, he’s not going out of his way to highlight them given the choice of his words he uses.
Maybe it isn’t ideal in his mind, but he doesn’t sound that unhappy with things to me.