Wednesday, 14th September, 2011

Linked with AC Milan earlier this week, it has now emerged that Fernando Torres could be offered a Russian escape route from his Chelsea troubles courtesy of Anzhi Makhachkala.

The Spanish striker is cutting a frustrated figure at Stamford Bridge and has found the back of the net just once in blue since landing from Liverpool in January at a cost of £50M.

His fortunes at Chelsea have not improved over the summer, with the Champions League victory against Bayer Leverkusen the first match he has completed without being substituted.


Torres was also at the centre of a storm concerning an interview given in his native Spanish recently, in which it was reported he criticised several Chelsea team-mates for being too slow. The striker has since denied this and claimed he was misquoted in the English translation.

Now the forward has become a target for big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala according to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, a side for who money is no object.

The Russian giants look to have heard the whispers over AC Milan’s possible loan bid for Torres in January and, if there is a chance of signing the 27-year-old, are determined not to be left in the starting blocks.

Torres would be offered lucrative terms at the Dagestan club and, given the riches lavished to take Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o from Inter over the summer, may find the Russians hard to refuse.

Anzhi Makhachkala have designs on winning the Champions League within the next three seasons and, bankrolled by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, want to build a team packed full of galacticos. A Torres-Eto’o partnership would be a good basis for this.

For Chelsea too the opportunity to recoup all, or at least much, of the fee paid to Liverpool for the misfiring forward, could be a tempting one.


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