Athletic Bilbao director of football Rafa Alkorta has revealed that he is interested in bringing Fernando Llorente back to the club.
Llorente is out of contract at Spurs this summer and is unlikely to be offered an extension.
The 33-year-old has scored just six goals in 38 appearances for Spurs since joining from Swansea City in 2017 and has played just 46 minutes in the Premier League and Champions League this season. However, he did turn a few heads when he scored a hat-trick against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup, despite it being against League Two opposition.
In an interview with Spanish radio network Cadena SER (as quoted by Sky Sports), Alkorta said: “We are interested in Javi Martinez, Ibai Gomez, Ander Herrera, Fernando Llorente… all of them interest us.”
Llorente scored 111 goals in 327 games in Bilbao between 2005 and 2013 and is said to be keen on a return to his former side.
Bilbao operate under a strict club policy which means that they can only recruit players who are either born in the Basque country of Spain or have come through the youth system of a club located there.
Llorente was recently quoted by The Standard as saying: “If I have the opportunity and they come to talk to me, probably, yes, is the truth,”
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When asked when he would make the move Llorente added: “Come back now or in summer? I do not know. It does not depend on me.
“To go out in the winter market they would have to talk to [Tottenham chairman Daniel] Levy and I cannot do anything.”
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