Exclusive: Torres for sale! Chelsea will take £20m in January for flop striker By Neil Ashton Last updated at 10:57 PM on 13th December 2011 Comments (28) Share Chelsea will listen to offers for £50million flop Fernando Torres in next month's transfer window. The £150,000-a-week striker has scored just three Barclays Premier League goals since his move to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool on January 31. Chelsea considered sending him on loan to rebuild his shattered confidence, but they are now prepared to sell. Forlorn Fernando: Torres has failed to fire for Chelsea since his £50m move The club will have to take a massive financial hit on the most expensive player in British football history, but they have almost exhausted their other options. Instead they will listen to any club prepared to offer around £20m and match his huge salary demands next month. When Andre Villas-Boas became Chelsea boss in the summer he was convinced Torres could recapture the form that turned him into one of the most feared strikers in world football. The manager hoped signing Juan Mata from Valencia would improve Torres's game, but even that has failed to spark the Spaniard back to his former glories. Off target: Torres was the most expensive player in British transfer history Chelsea have been patient with the 27-year-old, but the feelers are already out in Europe to find Torres a top club to take him in January. The World Cup winner has been a disaster since moving to the Bridge and is now behind Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order. He did not even get off the bench against Manchester City on Monday night and stayed immobile in the dug-out as the rest of the substitutes, along with the backroom team, celebrated Frank Lampard's late winner from the penalty spot. Head boy: Daniel Sturridge is above Torres in the strikers' pecking order It underlines Torres's frustration with his position and the belief that he is now firmly out in the cold at Chelsea. Although he remains a popular figure with supporters at the London club, he has failed to live up to his billing as one of the best players in the world. There were signs of the old Torres magic when he scored at Old Trafford in September, but all the hard work was undone when he was sent off against Swansea in the following game. Rare sight: Torres has celebrated scoring just four goals this season for Chelsea He went 13 games without a goal when he signed for Chelsea, finally getting off the mark in a 3-0 win over West Ham on April 23. He was mobbed by team-mates at the time, but then went another nine games before scoring against Manchester United on September 18. He has scored only four goals this season, despite starting 11 games, with two of those coming against Genk in the Champions League in October. Why so glum, Fernando? The arms go up, the roars bellow out. Manager Andre Villas-Boas leads Chelsea’s celebrations as the final whistle blows on Monday night. But take a closer look... one player doesn’t appear to be in victory mode. £50million man Torres (circled) appears glum after another match on the bench watching his team-mates shine. Was there something in the air that night, Fernando? Party pooper: Torres (circled) fails to celebrate at the final whistle Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2073746/Fernando-Torres-sale-Chelsea-20m-January-flop-striker.html#ixzz1gT6l2Dg8
I would think they are front runners, the only other team I could see risking that move would be Malaga.
Sound investment. Decreased value of 30M pounds in a year plus all of his wages for a handful of goals. Maybe Liverpool will buy him back, if he started pouring in goals again it could be one of the best pieces of business ever (I admit that may be a pretty big "if"). Sell player for 50M, he flops, buy back for 20M exactly one year later. It would have been alot better if they didn't waste 35M on Andy Carroll though.
Could see Milan or PSG both hopping on this. Both have shown interest in Tevez for around the same price.
Wish we'd gotten a better deal for Robbie Keane (sold for 20.3M, bought back for 12-16M, sold again for ~3M).
The Torres Experiment has to be one of the most wasteful purchases not just in soccer, but in all of humanity's existence.
Tevez would be the better buy. As el_pato said only PSG or Malaga seem feasible. Torres won't go to Russia and the other big euro teams won't spent 20 million on him.
I think if given a chance to start every game he will regain his form. Not saying he wasn't given chances, but having DD and Anelka right there taken time from you couldn't have helped. Along with new mid-fielders and having Essien out plays into it.
Anelka has played less than him and is going to fucking China. Drogba and Sturridge (not Anelka) are playing because Torres has been total shit since he's been there. This dip in form came long before he went to Chelsea. He's never looked the same since he had knee surgery in early 2010. Right now this is the worst transfer in the history of the EPL (though Andy Carroll is close).
Talking about last year mostly, it takes along time to heal from a knee injury, and to get back in soccer form they says takes as long as you were off the pitch for the injury, he's 27, he has plenty of time to figure it out.
Yep he had what 3 goals in 4 games right before he left us. Just needs a good run of games and support from his teammates.
Seems to me like they floated 20 mil out there to kind of say "he's on the market" but will keep him until a decent offer comes along and hope that he regains some semblance of form in the second half of the season. I don't think he gets sold in January.
He just needs a new start in a new league, he has great ability he just hasn't put it all together in a long time, but I still think he can get it just not in the EPL