Llorente heading to Italy

Mirror Football is today reporting that Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente will snub the English Premier League after opening talks with Serie A champions Juventus.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur had all been keen on the Spain international, but look set to miss out on his signature as he eyes a move to Italy.

Llorente has only played a bit part for Bilbao in La Liga this campaign, scoring just two goals and spending the majority of his time on the bench.

The Spanish outfit were not happy with the way that the striker behaved last summer as he admitted he wanted to leave the club and now, with not long left on his current contract, they are willing to cash-in on him.

Juventus have been keeping tabs on Llorente for a while now and it seems as though the player wants to challenge for big trophies, including the Champions League, which the side from Turin can offer him.

If he does make the move as expected, he will come into a squad full of confidence as they are in the last 16 of Europe’s elite club compeition and have a healthy eight-point lead at the top of Serie A.