Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente has insisted that Athletic Bilbao never got in touch with him in the January transfer window, despite speculation the Basque outfit wanted to re-sign him.
Llorente has been a bit part player for Tottenham since joining the club in 2017 and has struggled to play regular minutes for the north London club.
The Spaniard was prepared to leave Spurs in January and was heavily linked with a return to his former club Athletic Bilbao, who were reportedly interested in signing him.
But Llorente has claimed that Athletic Bilbao never opened any sort of conversations with him and believes if they had made an approach, Tottenham would have entertained negotiations.
The striker said on Spanish radio station Cadena COPE: “I was open to talks, of course.
“If they had spoken to me, we would have met each other and I think Tottenham would have agreed to speak.”
Llorente has not ruled out returning to his former club and admits that he would never close the door on possibly rejoining Athletic Bilbao as he remains grateful for the role they played in his career.
He continued: “You never know what can happen in football.
“I don’t close doors to any possibility and less so for Athletic, who have given me everything and where I grew up as a person and as a player.
“You never know.”
