On the 31st January, Chelsea acquired the services of Spanish striker Fernando Torres for an astonishing £50 million. This made him the fourth most expensive player in the history of the Premier League, a fact made more astounding by the fact that Torres had not been playing anywhere near his best for the first half of the season at Liverpool.

Roman Abramovich obviously thought that Chelsea’s players and style of play would be able to bring the best out of the new No. 9 and they would recoup their investment fairly quickly thanks to a significant number of goals from the forward. Quite simply, it hasn’t happened. Torres has scored only one goal for The Blues and has not yet fit into the Chelsea system or gelled alongside the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka.

Torres, though, I’m sure can make a return to his incredible form of previous seasons but it is clear that Chelsea will have to make a few changes to their personnel and playing style in order to achieve this.

With the benefit of hindsight it is now easy for us to say that Fernando Torres was an odd buy for Abramovich and Chelsea. As well as the fact he was (and still is) out of form, it is clear that a strike partnership with Chelsea’s main man Didier Drogba was always going to be a tricky proposition. You see, Torres and Drogba are similar types of strikers, when at the top of their game. Both like to play from the front and benefit from great midfield service.

Both players are willing to drift out wide if needed but ideally prefer to be in and around the box. What aids both Drogba and Torres is a “creative striker”, a player who can drift wide and collect the ball from the flanks or who will draw the defenders away and leave their partner free to stay in that danger zone around the area.

Drogba had this with the likes of Anelka and Florent Malouda alongside him and whilst Torres lacked this at Liverpool for the first half of the 2010-2011 season, the signing of Luis Suarez during the transfer window was clearly intended as a skillful strike partner for the Spaniard. Perhaps Torres is now regretting his hasty decision to leave Anfield having seen Suarez play at Anfield. The Uruguayan is a player who would have brought the best out of Torres, in my opinion.

For Torres at Chelsea it has now become clear (as American 70’s pop group “Sparks” once sang) that “this town ain’t big enough for both of us.” Torres and Drogba cannot coexist at Stamford Bridge unless one is willing to act primarily as a substitute next season, which I very highly doubt.

Already Chelsea appear to be making moves to resolve this problem as reports now suggest that they are willing to accept any substantial offers for the Ivorian. This is a shame for Drogba as he has proven himself to be a real team player this season and has earned a lot of respect from fans and journalists alike for his attitude. Indeed, I was a critic of Drogba in seasons past as I felt his attitude was lacking and for a big, strong centre-forward his propensity to go to ground under any challenge was irritating.

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This season however he cut out the diving from his game (for the most part) and proved his toughness and attitude by going to the World Cup with the Ivory Coast in spite of a fractured arm and by battling through malaria at Chelsea. Nevertheless, with £50 million spent on Torres, it was clear who would be kept and who would be pushed out.

Of course, Drogba could yet stay at Stamford Bridge but I think this is unlikely. Anelka looks to be on his way out too and so the issue of a strike partner for Fernando Torres remains. There are several candidates in the running, some of whom are more likely to come to Chelsea than others.

The Brazilian prodigy Neymar is a player that Chelsea have wanted for a couple of seasons and he would play well with Torres, I feel. However, Santos value him at £41 million and I am not convinced that The Blues will want to pay that much for another striker. Chelsea have reportedly offered £30 million for the young Brazilian so we will have to wait and see whether Santos will accept that fee.

Sergio Aguero looked like he may make the move but now he has announced his wish to remain in Spain, I expect Real Madrid to snare him. If Chelsea can offer Aguero good wages though, he may be willing to come to the Premier League. Torres would thrive with Aguero alongside him.

The 22 year old Udinese striker Alexis Sanchez is also in the running but Chelsea will have to fight off interest from Manchester United, Barcelona and Inter Milan in order to obtain his services. Like Aguero and Neymar, Sanchez is a skilful player who would help Torres to get back to his goal scoring ways.

All three of these footballers would fit well alongside Torres but the most likely addition to the Stamford Bridge strike team, as of press time, is Romelu Lukaku with it being reported that Chelsea have had a £20 million bid accepted by Anderlecht. However, with the Belgian being just 18 years of age it is more likely that he will be used as back up for the main two forwards for the time being.

Quite simply, be it one of these four men or another striker Chelsea have their eye on, Fernando Torres needs a small, skillful player alongside him if The Blues are to keep playing the 4-4-2 system in which Torres thrives. In the Spanish national team Torres had David Villa, a player who fits that bill perfectly, and Chelsea need to emulate this if they are to find success next season.

Of course, this is not the only thing that Fernando Torres needs to once again become one of the world’s top centre forwards. In the second part of this piece on Chelsea and Fernando Torres I will take a look at the type of player Chelsea need to acquire in the middle of the park in order to bring the best out of their No. 9.

By Alex Watt for This Is Futbol