Chelsea have finally parted company with Fernando Torres after agreeing to sell the striker to AC Milan. Torres, who has two years left on his contract, will join the Italian outfit on a two-year loan deal, thus effectively bringing an end to his stay in English football.
After going through every possible way to get Torres playing like the day he did for Liverpool, Chelsea have finally decided to cut their losses on the 30-year-old. He will effectively replace Mario Balotelli at the San Siro. A Chelsea statement read:
“Chelsea Football Club and AC Milan have agreed terms for the two-year loan deal of Fernando Torres to the Italian club.”
Jose Mourinho has been saying throughout the summer that he wanted to retain Torres, but the Spaniard was effectively reduced to being the third choice striker at the club after the arrivals of Didier Drogba and Diego Costa.
Rumours intensified after he was completely left out of the squad against Leicester City. Torres is set to undergo a medical at Milan today.
Torres was understood to be demanding a pay-off from Chelsea or Milan to match his existing £180,000 per week (£8 million per season) contract. However, a balance appears to have reached with rumours suggesting Milan would be paying around £6 million. This substantial savings in the wage bill will allow Chelsea to sign a striker who can score goals.
The blues had been linked with a £20 million move for Roma striker Mattia Destro, but it now appears that QPR forward Loic Remy is the favourite to replace Torres at Chelsea. Rather than costing £20 million, Remy will cost only around £8 million with wage demands around the £80,000 per week figure.
