Towering Spanish forward is keen on joining ambitious Arsenal

Fernando Llorente may have only joined Juventus this past summer, but a distinct lack of playing time has already seen the Spaniard paired with a move elsewhere as early as the January transfer window. The Mirror are the latest to link the former Athletic Bilbao with a Turin exit, citing interest from Arsenal as the striker looks to boost his chances of making the trip to Brazil next summer for the World Cup with La Furia Roja. But exactly what can the 28-year-old offer Arsene Wenger’s side?

The Gunners currently posses only a single experienced, pure centre-forward in Olivier Giroud, with youngster Yaya Sanogo both raw in development and on the treatment table at present. Arsenal are known to have been keen on adding more firepower to their ranks since missing out on Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli.

Llorente, meanwhile, has clocked just 275 minutes between Serie A and Champions League action for his new employers in northern Italy, notching a supremely disappointing aggregated Squawka Performance Score of -27 in the process.

Widely known for his prowess in the air, the Spain international has won just 13 of 27 (48%) headed duels in the Italian flight through his first five appearances, though his lone goal was indeed a match-winning cranial effort against Hellas Verona on 22 September.

His solitary strike stands alone despite the striker having hit the target with 75% of his shots in domestic play, recording a conversion rate of only 12.5%, whilst he was unable to find the frame of the goal altogether, with three shots in his Champions League debut for the Bianconeri three weeks ago ago in Galatasaray.

For his trouble, Llorente has the dubious honour of owning three Squawka ‘Worst’ Awards in all competitions, having finished a match with a positive Performance Score only once this campaign.

The Spaniard is certainly a better player than his rather putrid set of statistics suggest, however, as one must take into account the fact that he’s had to adjust to a new league, team, and country in one fell swoop to start the year.

Llorente consistently posted impressive goal tallies at Bilbao prior to his benching last term by former boss Marcelo Bielsa, and with regular playing time coupled with time to adapt, he has the potential to recover the form that saw him hit double figures in La Liga for five straight seasons between 2007 and 2012.

With respect to Arsenal, Llorente represents possible cover for Giroud, who has played all but 38 of the minutes on offer between the Premier League and Champions League, and it appears he would have more opportunities for action than at Juventus given the Bianconeri’s plethora of forwards able to play in Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 system.

A sticking point for a potential Gunners move may be that, even at his best, Llorente is not as adept as the Frenchman in possession and is rather immobile to boot, meaning he isn’t the most compatible centre forward for Wenger’s brand of football.

Arsenal would likely be looking for a loan deal if they are to indeed pursue the 28-year-old’s signature come January, given the fact that he is cup-tied for the Champions League and enduring a difficult spell on the pitch at the moment, but it remains to be seen if Juventus are willing to give up on a high-profile signing made so recently.

Yet with Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque recently having remarked, “I worry about all those who do not play regularly,” in response to questions from reporters about Llorente’s status ahead of the World Cup, the player himself may be motivated to pursue options elsewhere and could be motivated to prove himself away from Turin should his situation not improve imminently.