Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that he just sold a good project to Fernando Llorente to convince him to snub Chelsea and join Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day.
Chelsea had their eyes set on Llorente from the January transfer window and Antonio Conte looked like getting his man in the final stretch of the summer window before Tottenham forced their way into the saga.
Tottenham had a bid accepted by Swansea on deadline day and Pochettino spoke with the former Athletic Bilbao man to convince him to north London instead of joining the Premier League champions.
The Tottenham boss insisted that he only spoke about what the club could expect of Llorente when he joins and talked about the future the north London side are moving towards.
Pochettino said in a press conference, when asked what he told Llorente: “I think like always, we explained our philosophy and project for the future, what we expect from him and need from him.
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“It was a very good conversation with him, a private conversation.
“I think we talked about the project, the future and what we expect from him.”
The Argentinian insisted that there were no conversations over how much football he will be getting at Tottenham and stressed that he only sold a good project to the striker.
Asked if he offered more game time to Llorente than Chelsea did, Pochettino said: “We never talked about playing more or less.
"It was more about the project and having the possibility to join us, and he was so excited with our offer.
“He is an experienced player, a World Cup winner.
"He knows very well that after you need to deserve and show your quality to have the possibility to play.”
