Spurs rival Chelsea for Spanish striker

According to a couple of sources, Tottenham Hotspur is currently involved in a bidding war with Chelsea over Swansea City striker Fernando Llorente. Antonio Conte, who worked with Llorente at Juventus, wanted to bring in the towering Spaniard for some depth and a different option, but the deal isn’t coming off as easily as he thought.

When AS came out with the initial report, CFC’s writers assumed we were just trolling Chelsea. But Guillem Balague says that Tottenham’s interest is real, and they’re currently ahead in the race.

Of course, no one’s indicated that Llorente wants to join Spurs. Like Chelsea saw with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain earlier in the day, it doesn’t matter how much Spurs bid if the player has already made up his mind.

This would be an uncharacteristic move for Daniel Levy. He doesn’t usually let his managers sign 32-year-olds. If he does, they arrive on free transfers, not after bidding wars with Chelsea.

The only rationale we can come up with is that Maurico Pochettino thinks the dressing room lacks veteran leadership. Llorente is a model pro and has had the respect of his teammates everywhere he’s been. He’s also in great form, having scored 15 goals for a poor Swansea team last season.

With this rumor popping up, keep an eye on Vincent Janssen rumors. He could be heading somewhere on a loan-to-buy move before the window shuts.