Tottenham Transfers: Spurs Need to Take Advantage of Unhappy Fernando Llorente

Tottenham may have holes when it comes to their roster, but no gap is more alarming than the one at forward.

That's why when Goal.com reported that world-class striker Fernando Llorente wouldn't renew his contract with Athletic Bilbao, my first thought was:

"Put all other bids on hold and snatch this guy up!"

Goal.com goes on to quote Athletic Bilbao president president Josu Urrutia as saying in a recent press conference:

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"Llorente has told us that he does not want to renew his contract with the club...In case Llorente leaves the club, we will not sign another attacker. I can tell all clubs that want to sign one of our players that we are not a selling club. They will have to pay a player's buy-out clause."

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The 27-year-old Spanish international is in the last year of his contract and if the £12.5 million offer Juventus made for Llorente is any indication, a buy-out clause would cost Spurs significantly more than the reported £4-£5 million bid they have out for Manchester City centre-forward Emmanuel Adebayor.

However, White Hart Lane needs a first-rate striker and with respect to Jermain Defoe, I'm not quite sure they have it.

Metro reported earlier that Spurs already have a £9.5 million bid out there for Rennes defensive-midfielder Yann M'Vila and The Daily Mail said Real Madrid's £25 million offer for Luka Modric has been agreed upon.

I don't understand why manager Andre Villas-Boas doesn't just pull the M'Vila bid off the table, play Sandro at M'Vila's position, pull the trigger on the Modric deal and try to take advantage of an unhappy Llorente wanting to escape from La Liga.

There's few teams, and fewer managers, who would be a better fit for Llorente than Tottenham.

First, Villas-Boas is bringing his experience from the Iberian peninsula and a heavy emphasis on tactics to his new club. Llorente is perfect for the Spanish, Portuguese or Italian leagues where tactics win championships. Were Harry Redknapp in charge, this wouldn't be the case as he's more a traditional to the English game—putting your best 11 out there, giving them a general game plan with zones and positions and letting it fly.

Second—and I say this with as much objectivity as I can—Villas-Boas has Spurs going in the right direction, they are on the rise and will be playing Champions League football by this time next year. That's more than can be said for Athletic Bilbao who hasn't played a Champions League match since 1998.

Lastly, Villas-Boas is building something new at Tottenham. New acquisitions like Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson, as well as links to players like Yann M'Vila, tell me this will be a better mix of European talent than Spurs sides of the past. International talent has always come through White Hart Lane, but it was always two or three players from the same country and never as wide a variety as it is shaping up to be.

Andre-Villas needs goal-scorers. Fernando Llorente would have led Tottenham last season with his 0.53 goals per match average. Snatch him up, Villas-Boas, and put Defoe back at secondary striker where he belongs.