Fernando Llorente must convince Pochettino he can replace ‘jaded’ Harry Kane

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Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente must take any chance afforded to him against Watford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

The Spaniard is the back-up striker to Harry Kane, and has had to feed off scraps since joining the club from Swansea City in 2017.

The veteran has only made 31 appearances for the club to date.

He should be given a start by Mauricio Pochettino at Stadium MK against Watford though.

Kane has played an awful lot of football in the past year, and will surely be afforded some rest against the Hornets.

The England striker may have scored three goals for Spurs so far, but there’s no question he appears a bit fatigued after a long summer.

Pochettino has kept the faith with him so far though.

Perhaps Llorente needs to make a statement against Watford.

It is as though the Argentine tactician doesn’t fully trust Llorente to take over from Kane for a couple of games.

Maybe that mindset will change with a strong performance in the Carabao Cup.

Llorente needs to impress

The former Athletic Bilbao hitman could do with a goal to boost his confidence.

If Pochettino sees that Llorente has a good game under his belt, then it might force him to consider resting Kane in the Premier League.

The player will not want that, but perhaps Pochettino needs to use his head here.

Spurs’ next three fixtures are Huddersfield away, Cardiff at home and West Ham away.

It would be ideal for Pochettino if Llorente had a good game against Watford in the cup, to prepare him to face these three sides.

One has to imagine Tottenham would be able to take maximum points without needing to exert Kane further.