Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a late £15 million move for Swansea City striker Fernando Llorente, ahead of the transfer deadline
According to a report by The Sun, Chelsea are continuing their pursuit of Swansea striker Fernando Llorente and are preparing a £15 million bid for the same. They targeted the 32-year-old even in the January window but had to miss out, and are leaving no stone unturned this time.
Interestingly, the Spaniard played under Conte at Juventus and is likely to be happy at the prospect of linking up with his former boss. Earlier, the Welsh club were hesitant to sell Llorente after losing Gylfi Sigurdsson to Everton.
They are, however, understood to be closing in on a move for Wilfred Bony, thus making Chelsea’s offer sound tempting.
Fernando Llorente is richly experienced at the age of 32 and has proven his Premier League quality after bagging an impressive 15 goals in his first season on English soil. It is believed that Chelsea are eyeing him as a back-up option and perhaps not a full-time regular starter.
Chelsea need to find a replacement for Bertrand Traore, Tammy Abraham and even Diego Costa, who is strongly being linked to an exit move this summer. Additionally, Michy Batshuayi’s future also seems uncertain which will leave Conte with a rather mediocre attack.
The Chelsea boss needs to desperately boost his options up front since that could hold the key to their fortunes in the current season. Despite securing a move for Alvaro Morata, the Blues’ performances have been lacking enough attacking strength.
With a marquee striker like Morata already present in his ranks, it only seems fitting that Chelsea line up a worthy back-up option. At 32 years of age, the best of Llorente can be extracted further by deploying him a little less frequently, since that can help preserve his energy and fitness for greater battles.
The Blues have a busy season ahead and if they manage to sign Llorente as well, it will be a double advantage since the senior player can help develop Morata’s skills further and also act as an experienced yet sharp back-up for Conte in the case of injuries.