LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has never stopped him from signing older players like Fernando Llorente and says the Spaniard is one of the few strikers who is happy to compete with Harry Kane.
At 32, Llorente -- a £15 million deadline-day signing from Swansea -- is by the far the oldest player signed by the club under Pochettino. The manager has previously bought just three outfield players aged 25 or over: Federico Fazio, Toby Alderweireld and Moussa Sissoko.
Levy, who runs Spurs as a business, has a reputation for preferring young players with a sell-on value but Pochettino says he has not imposed an upper age limit on signings.
The manager has previously revealed that several strikers, including Chelsea's record-signing Alvaro Morata, have rejected the chance to compete with Kane and he said that makes World Cup winner Llorente "perfect" for Spurs, regardless of his price and age.
"From the beginning here, Daniel Levy has never said to me, 'We cannot sign players who are over 25.' Never. I promise you he's never said that," Pochettino said ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth-round match against West Ham, when Llorente will start instead of Kane.
"All we do is try to find a profile that will fit what we need for the club, but he has never said to me, 'That is the limit of the age -- we can or we cannot.'
"It is important to analyse one thing: when you look at Harry Kane in the last few years, it is not easy to find the profile who can compete with him. It is not easy in the market to find a player who wants to come and do that, as everyone recognises him as one of the best strikers in the world and for a club like us it is not easy to find. That is why Llorente is perfect, and fits very well for us in our project."
With Premier League top scorer Kane in need of a rest, Llorente will be one of several changes to the Tottenham lineup for West Ham's visit to Wembley, also including Michel Vorm, Juan Foyth and Danny Rose, who should start for the first time since January.
But Erik Lamela is still not ready to return from persistent hip problems, despite Pochettino's suggestion last week that he could be on the bench. Lamela has not played for exactly a year but he is back in training, and Pochettino indicated it was now more of a psychological issue.
"It was a 'maybe,'" he said. "It's the process -- he is doing very well but he still he needs that click to make you feel confident and say, 'Come on, now I can go to compete'. He is close. We are starting to feel he is close in the training sessions. Only now it is in his mind to feel 'Gaffer, now I am ready.'"