Mauricio Pochettino can’t have been overly impressed as Tottenham scraped past Barnsley with a 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup.
Spurs face West Ham at Wembley in the fourth round, but they will need a much better performance from their second string if they are to overcome Premier League opposition in what’s likely to be a heated London derby.
Jan Vertonghen and Dele Alli were the biggest names to feature for the hosts, so this was an opportunity for the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Harry Winks, and Juan Foyth to make their mark.
Fernando Llorente was also given his debut and suffered a frustrating 67 minutes before being replaced by Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.
The former Swansea man looked to be lacking fitness, having broken his arm in a cycling accident in the summer, and missed a glaring opportunity from a header.
This was the 32-year-old’s first start and the 23,000 or so fans who actually turned up will have been hoping to see a bit more from him, rather than another Vincent Janssen-esque performance.
However, Llorente has acknowledged that things didn’t go to plan and admits he needs more time to impress.
“It is my first game of the season without pre-season and now I have to continue to work a lot,” he said, per the Mirror.
“I need more time. This summer was hard because my arm meant a long stop. I have to work a lot. I don’t know how long. With minutes and confidence I think every match will be better.”
It’s likely the Spain international will return to the bench for the weekend’s game against West Ham, with Harry Kane replacing him up front.
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Garry
Sep 21, 2017 at 8:11 pm
And they sent VJ9 out on loan, bring him back