Tottenham are trying to bring striker Fernando Llorente back to north London, according to Football Insider.
The 34-year-old left Tottenham earlier in the summer when his contract expired. He had signed on a two-year deal from Swansea for a fee close to £14m.
The summer transfer window is shut in England but clubs can still sign free agents and Football Insider claims Tottenham have made a move to sign Llorente on a one-year deal.
The Spurs board is convinced they can persuade him to sign again despite not matching the £90,000-a-week offer he was on before.
TiF tactics – desperate or pragmatic?
Probably a bit of both. Tottenham’s ongoing problem is finding a back-up striker for Harry Kane and while Llorente wasn’t up to that task, he offered Mauricio Pochettino something completely different.
Llorente was brilliant as an impact sub and played a big part in Tottenham’s charge to the Champions League final last season. He scored in the home leg of the last 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund and got the all-important third away goal in the 4-3 defeat to Man City that saw them progress to the semis. Llorente was also widely credited with turning the semi-final against Ajax when Spurs were losing 2-0 before snatching a dramatic 3-2 win in the second half. Llorente replaced Victor Wanyama at half-time in that game.
In all, he scored 13 goals in 66 appearances for Spurs, including just 21 starts.
According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham previously failed in their bid to bring him back on a one-year deal on reduced terms when his contract ran out.
However, he still hasn’t found a new club and Spurs are hoping they can tempt him back for one more season in north London.
Having an orthodox centre-forward would give Pochettino an extra option that his team sorely needs at the moment. The 1-0 defeat to Newcastle at the weekend was a game that was crying out for a player like Llorente.