Fernando Llorente is Rafa Benítez’s specific request to reinforce the Real Madrid attack. According to La Sexta, the Madrid coach wants a pure No.9 who will help his side vary their attacking approaches and the man he wants is the Juventus striker.
Llorente, who spent a large part of last season playing second fiddle to Álvaro Morata, is already aware of interest from the new Real Madrid coach and he would be delighted to pack his suitcases and head to the Spanish capital, where he would have to fight for a first-team place with Karim Benzema.
As Chicharito’s loan deal ended and the Bernabéu club opted against signing the Mexican permanently, Benítez has just one out-and-out striker (Benzema) at his disposal, although Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale offer different attacking variants. Therefore, the former Napoli boss has told the board of his desire to recruit Llorente, a forward with completely different characteristics to those of Benzema. His height (1.95m) means he is suited to an aerial game, while his pedigree is backed by his stint at Athletic, where he scored 89 goals in his final four seasons at the club as a regular starting player. He spent virtually the entirety of the 2012-13 season on the bench at San Mamés after failing to extend his contract and he ended up leaving the Basque club on a free transfer.
Llorente, who still has two years left on his contract at Juventus (where he earns €4.5m a year), has been offered to AC Milan, as Tuttosport reported. The San Siro giants would not frown upon recruitment of the Spaniard, although their priority is securing the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Now, amid the new interest from Real Madrid, Llorente, who has amplified his desire to leave Juventus following the arrival of Mario Mandzukic, would turn a deaf ear to other offers to prioritise a move to the Bernabéu.