The New Year’s Day edition of Marca reported that Fernando Llorente is closing in on a return to former club Athletic Club Bilbao.
A transfer for the striker is said to be ‘taking shape’ and the Basque club’s new president is leaving the final decision to those who direct football at Athletic.
Interestingly, Marca claim Spurs are keen to ‘get rid’ of players they don’t count on this month.
That may be overly optimistic from an Athletic perspective. Mauricio Pochettino certainly doesn’t see Llorente as crucial for his core plans, but on a squad level things are likely different.
The Spaniard is there to provide cover in case injuries strike and it’s unlikely Pochettino would be keen to leave himself short, so it could depend on a replacement being brought in first.
Marca pretty much dismiss the idea of Llorente moving to Galatasaray, believing he’d prefer a return to Spain, and they point out he’s spoken repeatedly about going back to Athletic.
