OPINION
Fernando Llorente hasn’t always had it easy at Tottenham.
The striker was signed specifically to be a bit part player, the kind only called upon in desperate times, and for most of his career in London he has been much-maligned last resort.
Slowly, however, he is starting to cast that perception aside, and has actually been a fairly important cog in the Spurs machine recently.
It was him who scored the goal at the Etihad that ultimately sent Tottenham into the last four of the Champions League, and it was him called upon to create havoc in the Manchester City ranks when the two sides met in the league on Saturday.
Admittedly, he was less effective that time around, but it shows that Mauricio Pochettino is growing in faith with the Spaniard, and that can only be a good thing.
Harry Kane is out for the foreseeable future, and with a congested fixture list between now and the end of the season to contend with, the Argentine needs options.
Son Heung-min will be his star, and rightly so, but there is still room for Llorente to make an impact, and that can start against Brighton on Tuesday night.
The £75,000-a-week striker [Spotrac] deserves his chance after ages on the periphery, and playing him in the lesser matches will ensure that he isn’t rusty if and when he is needed in the bigger games.
It’s a real no-brainer, and one that could benefit Spurs hugely in their crucial run in.