Let Fernando Torres Go!

The pre-season miss by Fernando Torres against Werder Bremen and another 2-yard howler against Olimpia Ljunljana have sparked one of the most talked about conversations once again. Should Chelsea sell Fernando Torres? Should Fernando Torres leave Chelsea? The Chelsea fans have traditionally backed their star striker and defended him but now the mood seems to be changing and even the fans seem to have had enough of him. Some Chelsea fans wore ‘Dont Scorres’ t-shirts in the game against AC Milan, which was played after their clash against Olimpia Ljunljana.

After Torres converted from a Red to a Blue, the £50m signing spurred the Chelsea fans to great excitement. But what has panned out in the last 3 years is just unimaginable agony for the Blues. The Blues have brought in Diego Costa from Athletico Madrid and Didier Drogba from Galatasaray FC this season. The fans see new hope now that Torres would be a third-choice striker after Costa and Drogba in that order. Diego Costa was a great force in Athletico Madrid’s success the last season and Drogba is the Champions League hero of Chelsea.

Many rumours had surfaced linking Torres to different clubs after the World Cup but José Mourinho, the Chelsea Manager has made it very clear that he won’t let the striker go. One rumour strongly linked him to Wolfsburg, the German club. The club was in talks with Torres’ agent and it was upto the Chelsea striker to decide if he wanted to leave. One reason why clubs don’t approach him is because his wages are high and he is not ready to reduce them. But Wolfsburg was ready to dole out whatever Torres asked for.  Even the Athletico Madrid fans want the star striker back. For the Athletico fans, he’s still the Torres that brought success to the club a few years ago. But they won’t pay the high wages that Torres demands and it would be hard work for Torres to fit into such a fast setup that Diego Simeone created last season.

José Mourinho might want to retain Torres in the form of a third striker but another dilemma for him is the quota of foreign players that the club can sign. The Blues currently have 18 foreign players and they need to offload one player to be at the accepted number of 17. Now there is no point in retaining a striker, when he hasn’t been able to play to his potential for the past three years and especially when you have to offload someone from the squad. Torres might consider signing for a club like Wolfsburg and try rediscovering his form to stop his mockery around the world.

Torres needs change and he won’t have the same comfort at the club if he keeps losing the support of the fans. By accepting the Wolfsburg offer or by reducing his wages and going to some other club, he might gain some form and respect. Torres needs to leave and Mourinho needs to let the Spanish go, as fast they can.