“I’ve come here to help Tottenham to win the title”.

This is what Tottenham Hotspurs’ deadline day signing, Fernando Llorente, had to say on his own move and he couldn’t have been more correct.

Title challenges require versatility, endurance and above all a good back-up. Barring the tip of the attack, every position in that Spurs line up has an able deputy, or at least an Eric Dier, and the Spaniard looks to be more than an able second choice.  

The answer to those crosses

Tottenham have taken four points from a possible nine so far this season.

Out came Wembley jinx, Harry Kane’s August hoodoo, traditional slow starters, and what not, as reasons for the dismal tally.

Their stats from the season thus far tells a different story.

Spurs had the most number of corners (22) and most number of crosses (82). They also rank in the top three for open play crosses (54) and headed attempts from set plays (10).

However, on the flip side, they have the lowest open play cross success percentage (13%), second lowest on-target headed attempts percentage (14%) and rank a poor 13th for cross completion percentage (22%).

Enter Fernando Llorente. While he may not be the most mobile striker, his towering presence in the box adds more meaning to the efforts of Christian Eriksen, Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier.

His introduction might be the ‘Plan-B’ that Tottenham have so lacked.

He can defend as well

While it is quite obvious that Llorente is only going to be brought on as a substitute, it is still required that he does his defensive duties. He has actually been good at it.

Llorente has made 15 more clearances, three more blocks and five more recoveries than Kane last season.

Comparing these numbers at face value is surely not the way to go about it. Swansea are expected to play with their back against the wall more often than Spurs and hence Llorente outdoing Kane is not the most surprising thing.

However, the intent to help out the defence is clear and Llorente’s height can surely help out the Spurs defence at set-pieces as well.

What does Llorente’s transfer mean to Draft Fantasy Managers?

Llorente was owned by just 38% of the draft fantasy football managers last season and his average draft position was around 94. Both the numbers might not improve in Llorente’s case as we expect him to come on as a substitute rather than start alongside Kane.

That said, the 30 odd minutes that he might play at Tottenham might give him better goal scoring opportunities than the 90 minutes at Swansea.

Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and Daniel Sturridge. These are the forwards on the bench at Tottenham’s title challengers. Vincent Janssen is no dud, but he is surely not the man who inspires confidence as substitute, yet.

Llorente brings in Premier League experience and, more importantly, goals and a new dimension to Tottenham’s attack. Maybe he can actually help deliver that title.