Chelsea's £50m flop Torres up for sale

Former Liverpool star Fernando Torres has scored just three league goals for Chelsea. (FILE)

Published Wednesday, December 14, 2011

By Agencies

Chelsea's misfiring £50 million forward Fernando Torres will go on sale next month.

His departure from Stamford Bridge is imminent with the club willing to listen to offers for him in the January transfer window.

Chelsea are willing to bite the bullet and offload the Spain international for £20 million.

According to a report from The Daily Mail, Chelsea were prepared to allow Torres to depart on loan to rebuild his confidence but it is believed that the club is now ready to offload the striker altogether.

The former Liverpool star, who moved to Stamford Bridge in acrimonious circumstances just 11 months ago, has scored just three league goals for the Blues.

Chelsea's patience with Torres appears to have snapped and are willing to swallow a massive financial loss on a player whom they splashed a whopping £50 million, making him the most expensive footballer in Britain.

The Blues are prepared to do business with any side that offers around £20 million for Torres and match his £150,000-a-week salary.

New Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas arrived in London in the summer determined to reinvent the Torres of old that made the forward one of the most scintillating and potent attacking threats in the world.

The signing of Juan Mata from Valencia was even designed to coax the best out of Torres but the former Kop idol has failed to forge any sort of understanding with his compatriot.

Having been patient with the forward as he struggled to come to terms with the backlash and stigma from Liverpool fans following his defection from Merseyside, Chelsea are now sounding out continental sides in the hope of getting Torres of their books.

The struggling Spaniard has now been firmly displaced from the starting eleven and is behind veteran Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order.

Torres was unsurprisingly an unused substitute in Chelsea's 2-1 triumph against Manchester City on Monday night and did not take part in the celebrations that ensued between the Blues' substitutes and coaching staff following Frank Lampard's winner against the Citizens.

While Torres enjoys a good rapport with the Chelsea faithful, he has failed to live up to his hefty price tag and reputation.

However, it seemed as though the Spaniard turned the corner when he struck a beautiful effort against United at Old Trafford in September, but the former Liverpool front man needlessly got himself sent off against new boys Swansea in Chelsea's next encounter.

Torres initially went through a 13-match goal drought when he jumped ship to the Blues, before finally opening his Chelsea account in their 3-0 win over West Ham on April 23.

He then went underwent another nine-match goalless streak before hitting the target against the Red Devils on September 18.

Torres has fared no better this season, having only found the back of the net a disappointing four times, despite having started 11 games.

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