Swansea’s Olsson thankful to have Llorente leading the line

Martin Olsson admits he is grateful to have Fernando Llorente on his side after experiencing what it is like to face the Swansea striker in training.

Spaniard Llorente took his tally of goals for the season to 11 thanks to two headers in a 3-2 victory over Burnley at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

At 32 it took the forward some time to adjust to life in the Premier League but he has well and truly found his feet in England now, with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte rumoured to be interested in bringing Llorente to Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window.

But team-mate Olsson is glad he stayed – even if it means that he is in a few more rough rides in Swansea’s training sessions.

“What he is doing is fantastic. He is exactly what we need, if we cannot work the ball on the ground we can look to put the ball in to him and he is there,” said left-back Olsson.

“He is the same in training, he wins absolutely everything in the air and it is good to have him.

“He is a nightmare when we do attack against defence in training. All the lads try to avoid him. We try and elbow him a bit to put him off but he is a strong, strong guy.

“He has been at big clubs before, but he is a nice guy, a really humble guy and he works so hard. The whole team’s style of play suits him and it has been good.”