Valencia are planning a move for Chelsea’s Fernando Torres as a replacement for Roberto Soldado, who looks set for a £26 million deal to Tottenham.
The La Liga side’s coach Miroslav Djukic has admitted that he needs to bolster his options in attack and recent reports suggest that a significant chunk of the money from Soldado’s sale could be used to lure Torres to the Mestalla.
Spanish newspaper Superdeporte believe that contact has been made and Valencia want to know if the player is available and how much he would cost if he is. They probably wouldn’t be able to go any higher than £25m for a man that cost the Blues £50m, but his time at Stamford Bridge hasn’t been a successful one and it may be seen as an opportunity to cut losses.
Torres isn’t the only player Valencia are thought to be looking at as Helder Postiga and Javier Hernandez are also on their radar, but the Spaniard would be the prime candidate.
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this rumour myself as the 29-year-old hasn’t lived up to expectations since arriving from Liverpool two-and-a-half years ago. If the club did want to move him on then it has long been thought that it would be with difficulty considering his £175,000-a-week wages and even if Valencia could afford to agree a suitable fee, I doubt the cash-strapped club can afford his wages.
I think Torres will remain at the club this season and part of me wants to see if Jose Mourinho can do anything with him despite the fact his stay has been a failure to date with only 34 goals in 131 games, but his problems are in his head and he represents a challenge for the manager.
The 25 man squad that travelled to the US will likely be the one Chelsea start the season with and if there are any changes it’ll be only one or two. The Blues are still after Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and if the England man signs then a forward will probably leave, but I think in that case it will be Demba Ba either in the summer or January.
Source: Daily Mail
