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19 March 2024

Torres' form puts Chelsea in quandary over Falcao move

Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao celebrates his goal against Deportivo La Coruna during their Spanish first division match at Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid December 9, 2012. (REUTERS)

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By Staff

Fernando Torres may be a rejuvenated figure and showing glimpses of the form which he displayed when Chelsea's interim manager Rafael Benitez was at Liverpool.

But the Blues have not abandoned their pursuit of finding a top quality striker to fill the void caused by the departure of Didier Drogba last summer.

A top representative of the club has reportedly flown to Madrid this week to hold further talks over acquiring either Radamel Falcao or Gonzalo Higuaín in the January transfer window.

Torres, a record £50 million signing, ended a barren league run which stretched back more than two months when he scored twice in Saturday's 3-1 win at Sunderland.

But his goals came after Marina Granovskaia, Roman Abramovich's personal assistant, had travelled to the Spanish capital to discuss whether Falcao or Higuaín could be signed when the window opens next month, according to The Telegraph.

Chelsea have also joined Arsenal in the hunt for Newcastle United striker Demba Ba, who has a £7million release clause, it said.

Granovskaia's presence in Madrid has also sparked speculation that Chelsea might attempt to bring back José Mourinho as their next manager.

But acquiring Falcao is a long-term target who is available for £48m is Chelsea's top priority.

They face strong competition from Manchester City and Real Madrid for the highly-rated Atlético Madrid striker, who netted five goals against Deportivo la Coruna in a 6-0 win on Sunday night.

City manager Roberto Mancini recently held talks with Falcao's agent, Jorge Mendes, but Real still appear to be favourites to acquire his services.

Higuain has struggled to command a regular place at Real under Mourinho.

The European champions, who made an ignominious exit from the group stages of the Champions League, are expected to busy during January as Abrahamovich is keen to replace his ageing squad.

The left-back position at Stamford Bridge has seen plenty of transfer speculation, with Ashley Cole being rumoured to leave the club in January.

In the past month, Cole has been linked with numerous clubs including Real Madrid and Paris St. Germain.

Lampard may be the next member of Chelsea's old guard to leave Stamford Bridge. 

Veteran Frank Lampard also has been linked with moves to the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he would replace the departing David Beckham, and to Chinese club Guizhou Renhe.

Everton's Marouane Fellaini has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in January.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott who has yet to sign a new contract has also been rumored to join the Blues in January.

Another potential move for Chelsea would be to bring in summer target Hulk, who moved to Zenit St. Petersburg in September from Porto.

Hulk is reportedly unhappy in Russia and could seek an escape with Chelsea potentially still interested in him.

The addition of either Walcott or Hulk to the club would signal the end of the Daniel Sturridge era at Stamford Bridge.

Sturridge has attracted plenty of interest from Liverpool.

Chelsea have already made a move to bring in a right-back during the January transfer window with the signature of 18-year-old Brazilian Wallace from Fluminense.

However, Wallace will not be available until next season at the earliest.

Chelsea's woes have been compounded by injuries to midfielder Oriol Romeu and skipper John Terry.

Romeu is expected to be out for six months after undergoing surgery on Monday, the club has announced.

Romeu missed the team's trip to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup this week along with Terry who is also rumoured of a move to La Liga club Valencia.

But all eyes will be on Torres who Benitez claims is close to reaching his best form when the duo were together at Anfield.

If Torres does not reach that top form by January, Colombian Falcao is the man who could replace him.