Tottenham Hotspurs ended their transfer business with the signing of Spanish striker, Fernando Llorente. It was a signing they really needed to make. Prior to this, they had attacking options in Harry Kane and Vincent Janssen.
Harry Kane has been a revelation for Tottenham ever since his debut for the club, way back in 2013. He has been the talisman up front for Mauricio Pochettino and has won back to back golden boots, becoming the first player to do so.
While having a talisman up front is ideal, over reliance on just one striker is a recipe for disaster. Understanding the same, Pochettino invested in the free-scoring, or so it seemed, Vincent Janssen. To say that move failed would be an understatement.
Llorente’s move also acts as a sucker punch to their London rivals Chelsea. The Blues and Antonio Conte were in pursuit of the striker but failed to substantiate the deal further, much to their dismay. Tottenham were quick to act and roped in the Spanish striker from Swansea to further strengthen their attack.
With Harry Kane up front, Pochettino sets up his team in an attacking formation with Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen deployed as the #10’s behind the England striker. His team attacks the opposition mainly through central areas, utilizing the close control of Eriksen, Alli and Kane to devastating effects.
But the free-flowing football that was on display seems to have hit a brick wall. Tottenham faltered against Chelsea and Burnley. They had plenty of the ball in both the games and had a catalogue of chances, but none of them could be classified as clear cut. The reason being the simple fact that teams are happy to sit back and defend, soak the pressure and hit Tottenham on the counter.
With the signing of Llorente, Spurs can utilize another avenue in attack. Llorente scored 15 times in the league last season and was one of the main instigators in Swansea’s fight for survival last season. Out of the 15 goals, 7 of them were headers. Standing at a height of 6 feet and 4 inches, Llorente is an intimidating presence for any opposition.
Tottenham possess some of the best full-backs in the country. The signing of Serge Aurier adds more gloss to that list.
This can only indicate a change in the attacking ideology of Pochettino. We could be seeing a lot of Tottenham’s attacks from down the wings. In Harry Kane and Llorente, Pochettino has options for how he decides to set his team up.
Will this change in ideology bear fruits as the season progresses?
