17 months after Tottenham debut versus Dortmund, Fernando Llorente is playing for his future

By Sam Leveridge

It was only 17 months ago that Fernando Llorente completed a £12.1 million transfer from Swansea City to Tottenham, going on to make his debut against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group stages in early September in a 3-1 win.

Goal were among those who expected him to depart in January, with Athletic Club linked with a move to take him back to Bilbao, where he began his career.

Instead, injury to Harry Kane left Mauricio Pochettino short of options and Llorente was retained to provide much needed depth and experience to a shallow and inexperienced front line in north London.

(Photo by Craig Mercer – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Having only scored two goals against top flight sides all season, the jury remains out on whether the Spaniard has a role to play and so proving himself in such a high profile fixture may go a long way to justifying staying at the club beyond the summer.

With his first Premier League goal of the season and three assists in his past three games, Llorente should be full of confidence heading into Wednesday’s crucial tie at Wembley Stadium.

Pochettino needs his centre-forward firing if he is to lead Spurs on a European campaign this season, and it provides a real opportunity to Llorente to show what he is capable of.