Tottenham need to buy but can’t risk finding another Vincent Janssen rather than a Fernando Llorente

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Enjoy the moment: Fernando Llorente, being congratulated after scoring last night, will hardly play when others are fit
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Alan Smith26 January 2019

As I drove home from Stamford Bridge last night, the radio airwaves crackled with pumped-up Tottenham fans. Some sounded defiant, defending their team’s efforts in the League Cup semi-final. Others laid in to chairman Daniel Levy for a lack of transfer spending.

Without doubt, these are testing times for the Lilywhites. It almost feels like Spurs have reached their full potential and won’t push on without adding to the squad. Under those circumstances, Mauricio Pochettino could be forgiven for wondering if he has taken this team as far as he can. You can hardly blame Spurs fans for worrying whether their manager feels it’s time to leave.

Yet any team would struggle without their first-choice attack. How can you possibly cater for losing Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli at the same time? Fernando Llorente, remember, is a Spain international with an impressive CV. It’s almost impossible to recruit better than that when the striker concerned will hardly play when the others are fit.

Previous attempts at buying cover pretty much prove the point. Vincent Janssen, for instance, was brought in two-and-a-half years ago for £17million. That move has fallen flat on its face, with Pochettino admitting the Dutchman will never play for him again.

Stung by that kind of failure, Spurs find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place. With a new stadium to pay for, money is clearly tight. It looks like they’ll have to plough on with what they’ve got.

And with Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies limping off last night, the Spurs boss has very little wriggle room for an FA Cup tie now taking on added importance. Yes, Spurs are still in the Champions League and retain a slender hope in the title race. But the world’s oldest cup competition now represents their best chance by far of winning a much-needed trophy.

Getting past the fourth round could be a little tricky if Roy Hodgson decides to field his best team. If that’s the case, Selhurst Park should be throbbing as a Palace side profiting from a full week’s rest charge at a Spurs outfit that must feel wounded and weary.

It might be a good time, in fact, to play Christian Benteke, now the striker has finally returned from a knee injury. What a bonus that would be if the striker could somehow find some of his old form to brighten up a campaign largely short on excitement.

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Benteke’s struggles at Palace actually serve as a reminder to clubs investing large sums on this kind of player. No matter their ability, it sometimes proves impossible to extract any kind of consistency. For whatever reason, that was certainly the case with Benteke before his injury.

In a wider sense, that’s the problem facing Spurs. They don’t have money to waste.

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