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Fernando Llorente: Last-Minute Call From Pochettino Was Reason I Snubbed Chelsea

Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente has revealed a call made to him by Mauricio Pochettino on transfer deadline day was ultimately the reason he snubbed Chelsea.
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Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente has revealed a call made to him by Mauricio Pochettino on transfer deadline day was ultimately the reason he snubbed Chelsea.

The Spaniard looked set to move to Stamford Bridge, only to change course in the final few hours of the window, leaving Chelsea with just Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi for the 2017/18 season.

A lot of people were surprised to see Llorente fail to join Chelsea, especially given his history with Antonio Conte and the fact that the Blues were after him in January, but the striker has now revealed why he chose Spurs instead.

He said via Sky Sports: "The truth is that Chelsea have been after me for a long time but at the end you know how this works. At the very last minute Pochettino called me and convinced me [to join Tottenham]. He was someone very important, without doubt. I knew him from when I was in Spain.

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"The Tottenham project is impressive. They have done very well in the last few years and I think I fit very well with this project. I think I can help them a lot.

"I'm very happy because at the end everything came out perfect. Tottenham are an amazing club with a wonderful project and I think I fit in very well. I want to put my contribution on it and hopefully I can score many goals to help the club to achieve their targets."

Llorente will assume the role of back-up striker for Tottenham this season with Harry Kane to lead the line once again.