As I’m sure we all know by, Liverpool have publicly rejected a bid from Premier League rivals Chelsea for striker Fernando Torres ahead of the January transfer window closing on Monday evening. Chelsea are in need of a decent forward to help their faltering title defence after slipping from first to fourth in the league, ten points behind leaders Manchester United.
Liverpool’s American owner John Henry is not prepared to let one of his top players leave, with the team showing delicate signs of a recovery since Kenny Dalglish returned to the manager’s job at the start of the month. Consecutive victories and clean sheets have lifted Liverpool away from the relegation zone up to seventh, nine points behind Chelsea in the final Champions League qualification spot.
The bid for Torres was put at around £35 million, although Torres has only found the net nine times for Liverpool this season, three of those goals have come since Kenny Dalglish replaced Roy Hodgson as manager.
Why didn’t Chelsea bid for Torres at the start of the transfer window when Hodgson was still in charge? Why wait until the last weekend?
I think Chelsea may just be starting to panic a little, maybe they feel they’re not strong enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League! I believe Torres will leave if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League, which looks very likely at this point of the season, and where will he go? Chelsea or Manchester City probably, as they’re the only clubs who could afford the £45-50 million pricetag.
If and when Torres goes, I imagine that Pepe Reina will leave too, and my guess on that one is to Manchester United, seeing as Van der Sar is set to retire in May! Let’s hope Liverpool pull off a miracle and somehow manage to finish in the top four this season, otherwise next season could be even harder to bear than this one!
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