Author: Liam

AC Milan recently signed £ 50 million flop Fernando Torres on a two-year loan spell from Chelsea just a few days before transfer deadline day. The Spaniard is set to make his first start for his new club in the league match against Empoli. Ahead of this encounter, Torres’ former teammate at Atletico Madrid, Demetrio Albertini, says that Milan will benefit from having patience with the 30-year-old. The striker has struggled for form in the last four years and Albertini says that it is very unlikely that he will recover it very soon.

Milan have made a great start to the season after winning the opening two matches, but they recently were defeated 1-0 by title rivals Juventus. Despite this setback, Filippo Inzaghi’s team look a formidable force. They have been playing an attractive brand of football which would in turn help Torres with several opportunities at his feet. It was not long ago that the 30-year-old was regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. Albertini has recalled that former Spain coach Luis Aragones was aware that Torres was a player who found it difficult to score goals that were normally tap ins for other players, but he was extremely adept at scoring tough goals.

“He can become a key player in Serie A. Fernando was very young when we played together at Atletico. He was the top scorer of the team. He is a great purchase. He is not one that scores very much. You have to have faith, wait patiently. As Luis Aragones said, as our Coach in Madrid then, 2002-03, Fernando finds it easier to score difficult goals than he does easy ones,” said the former Atletico Madrid teammate of Torres. After losing Mario Balotelli to Liverpool, Torres is the first choice striker available at the disposal of Inzaghi.

Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho has never lost faith in Fernando Torres, the Spanish player which cost the Premier League club €50 million failed to live up to the expectations that he could play at the same world class level he did some years ago when performing with Liverpool.

Even with his significant number of underwhelming matches and low amount of goals being scored in every season it seems like Mourinho truly believes that Fernando Torres still has a lot more to offer and the former Real Madrid manager continuously places the Spanish attacker in his starting lineup.

Chelsea has played a number of pre-season friendly matches against Vitesse, Werder Bremen, Olimpija and a few other clubs and the team of Jose Mourinho has collected positive results in all of the games except when locking horns with Werder Bremen where Fernando Torres missed the net from point blank range.

Jose Mourinho shut down claims and rumors linking Fernando Torres with a move away from Chelsea as the Portuguese manager went on saying that Torres will only leave if the player desires on doing so and this will not happen as Torres has already announced that he wants to repay Chelsea and the fans of the club for their support towards him.

If Fernando Torres does indeed remain in Stamford Bridge and no other high profile attacker is signed by Jose Mourinho then Torres and Diego Costa are expected to be lined up together as the main offensive players for Chelsea during the next Premier League season but if Torres does not perform at the level that is demanded by the club then it would be a wise decision for Mourinho to sign another player that can serve as a back-up option for the inconsistent Fernando Torres who  has a lot to prove if he wants to silence his critics.