Reds working on bringing Spanish striker back to Anfield.
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Liverpool are in secret talks over the possible return of Chelsea striker Fernando Torres to the club, CaughtOffside understands.
The 29-year-old has had an unhappy time at Stamford Bridge since his sensational £50million move from Anfield in 2011, failing to look anywhere near recapturing the form that earned him the reputation as one of the best strikers in the world in his spells with Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.
Much speculation has surrounded Torres’ future this summer, as it was widely expected that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had finally lost his patience with the Spaniard, and would allow new manager Jose Mourinho to move him on.
Earlier in the transfer window, Torres was linked with the likes of Napoli and Fiorentina as part of potential swap deals to bring either Edinson Cavani or Stevan Jovetic to Stamford Bridge, though these never materialised. With not long left now until the transfer window closes, it looked increasingly likely that the Spain international would remain with the Blues for at least another year.
However, Liverpool’s search for a striker has seen them consider a move to bring Torres back to Anfield, and they are said to have been holding secret talks over this possibility.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has failed in his attempts to bring in the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa and Willian to the club this summer, and still feels his side are short of goals upfront, with Daniel Sturridge currently his best option due to the absence of Luis Suarez through suspension, and the settling in of new signing Iago Aspas.
The Reds boss is a fan of Torres, but remains uncertain over whether the ageing forward would still fit in to the style of play at Liverpool, with Rodgers adopting a highly technical and attacking style based around quick and young players.
While Torres is thought to welcome the chance to return to his old club, where he enjoyed some of the best form of his career, it is also unclear whether or not the Anfield fans would welcome him back after he left them for a rival. Torres has often been booed by the Liverpool crowd when playing against them in a Chelsea shirt, and both parties are concerned that this signing may not go down too well.
Liverpool may be running out of options as the transfer window draws to a close though, with the Chelsea flop looking like the cheapest available option, supposedly being available for around £18million, a big loss on the huge price the Blues initially paid for him.
If this move goes through, it would continue a recent trend of players moving between these two clubs, with Daniel Sturridge, Raul Meireles and Yossi Benayoun being notable examples. Victor Moses could also be set to do the same, with Liverpool also contacting Chelsea about taking the Nigerian winger on loan for the season.