Chelsea Transfers: Why Should José Mourinho Keep Fernando Torres?
£20 million striker off the back of scoring regularly for Atlético Madrid for five successive seasons in La Liga. 24 months earlier Rafa Benítez had guided the Reds to a surprise Champions League victory, defeating AC Milan on penalties in the final, but had failed to build on this success in the league. At the end of the 2006-07 season Liverpool had finished 3rd in the Premier League but some 21 points behind champions Manchester United. Fernando Torres was the big money signing to take Liverpool from 3rd the season before his arrival into genuine Premier League title contentenders. At least that was the hope. The Spaniard smashed in an impressive 24 goals in 33 Premier League games during his debut season in English football only Cristiano Ronaldo (31) had more Premier League goals that season. Only Andrew Cole (34 goals in 40 games in 1993-94) and Kevin Phillips (30 goals in 36 games in 1999-2000) have ever scores more goals in their debut Premier League season than Fernando Torres. Torres' goals fired Liverpool to within 11 points that season but only good enough for a fouth place finish in the league. They reached the semi-finals of the Champions League before being eliminated by Chelsea. The striker made it in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year alongside Emmanuel Adebayor. He also made it into the UEFA Team of the Year for 2008, alongside Lionel Messi, after scoring 6 goals in 10 Champions League matches. He was voted third in the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards. That summer, Fernando Torres would score the only goal in the final of Euro 2008 as Spain beat Germany to clinch their first major international honour in 44 years. Quite a season. 
The following season Torres would score 14 in 24 as Liverpool finished runners-up to Manchester United 4 points behind the champions. The Reds' tally of 86 points was at the time the most points accumulated by the runners-up in a 38-game season. Torres was again named in the PFA Team of the Year. Fernando Torres' third and final full season at Anfield in the season of 2009-10 saw some of the best from the Spaniard once more as he scored 18 goals in 22 Premier League games. But it was a step backwards for Liverpool who had dropped from runners-up the previous season, into finishing 7th some 23 points behind champions Chelsea. A World Cup would be lifted that summer for Fernando Torres and Spain, defeating Netherlands 1-0 in the final. After looking tired and scoring just 9 goals in 23 Premier League games for Liverpool during the first 6 months of the 2010-11 season, Fernando Torres was bought by Chelsea in a mega £50 million deal. He went a staggering 903 minutes without a goal for his new club before the help of a soaked pitch during a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham saw him score his 1 and only Premier League goal for the Blues that season. That effort against West Ham had given Torres 10 Premier League goals that season for Liverpool and Chelsea combined eight successive league seasons in double figures. The decline of Fernando Torres arguably started after the 2010 World Cup, but after high expectations at the start of the 2011-12 seasons, the £50 million January signing was already looking like a flop. First under André Villas-Boas, and then Roberto Di Matteo that season, Torres netted just 6 goals in 32 league appearances for Chelsea - his first league season without scoring double figures since his first season as a proffessional. In 2012, Fernando Torres would net his first silverware in English football. First the FA Cup, with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the final. And two weeks later, the Champions League, the first time in Chelsea's history with a penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich in the final. Torres would remain on the bench as an unused substitute in both finals. Last season proved unsuccessful for Fernando Torres too as he scored only 8 goals in 36 Premier League appearance for Chelsea as their sole striker. Arguably the formation may not suit his strengths, but their were numerous occasions of the striker out of position and seemingly confidence. Even with the support of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Frank Lampard, Torres did not aid Chelsea's title ambitions. 
Some Chelsea fans will try to pull the wool of our eyes by stating Torres scored 23 goals in 64 appearances for Chelsea during 2012-13. Some of these opponents, not of what I would class as Premier League standard, such as Brentford, Middlesbrough and Leeds United. Here is a full list of who Fernando Torres scored his 23 goals against last season: Premier League Reading Newcastle United Arsenal Norwich City Sunderland (2) Aston Villa Everton Champions League Shakhtar Donetsk Nordsjaelland (2) Europa League Steaua Bucharest Rubin Kazan (3) FC Basel Benfica FA Cup Brentford Middlesbrough League Cup Wolverhampton Wanderers Leeds United Community Shield Manchester City FIFA Club World Cup Monterrey That's just two goals against top-half finishing opponents in the Premier League last season (Arsenal & Everton). Despite scoring 4 goals in a 10-0 demolition of Tahiti during this summer's Confederations Cup, personally, I felt he was still poor that game, missing numerous chances and failing to set up team mates on occasion with what should have been simple passes. Is this the striker José Mourinho will want in his Chelsea team? Will the 'Happy One' give Torres one last chance to prove he can get back to his best?