Swansea Accepts Late Tottenham Bid for Long-Term Chelsea Target Fernando Llorente
Tottenham could be set to sensationally pip Chelsea to Fernando Llorente's signature after they had a bid accepted for his services by Swansea City.
Spanish news outlet AS had reported earlier on Thursday that the reigning Premier League champions were closing in on capturing the striker.
However, BBC Sport's David Ornstein has tweeted that Spurs have jumped to the head of the queue to sign Llorente, with the Swans accepting their shock offer for the 32-year-old.
Ornstein went on to reveal that Chelsea had been edging closer towards landing a player, who had previously worked with Blues boss Antonio Conte at Juventus, for a number of weeks but could now be gazzumped by their fierce London rivals at the last minute.
Chelsea will naturally try and counter Tottenham's serious interest in Llorente by tabling their own bid, and the outcome of this particular saga is set to go down to the wire as the 11pm cut off point looms large over the horizon.
AS had claimed that Chelsea had been locked in discussions with Swansea over the possibility of luring Llorente to Stamford Bridge, and suggested that a fee between £9m and £13m was close to being agreed.
Everton were also believed to have made tentative enquiries for the ex-Athletic Bilbao star, but couldn't compete with Chelsea's - and now Spurs' - offer of Champions League football this term.
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If push came to shove, Llorente would arguably decide to reunite with Conte at Chelsea and compete with Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi for a place in the Italian's starting lineup - an arrival that would be long overdue after initial interest in Llorente from Chelsea back in January.
However, if Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino somehow convinced Llorente that he would gain more game time at their temporary home of Wembley, it would be yet more transfer heartbreak for Conte following a summer of frustration in the market.
Llorente is currently sidelined with a broken arm that he sustained during an accident on holiday, but would still be able to take part in any medical at either club.
The Spain international bagged 15 goals for Swansea last season as he helped them retain their Premier league status against the odds.
