Misfiring Torres out-gunned by AC Milan front-line

Date: 18th December 2014 at 10:00am
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Fernando Torres AC MilanAC Milan want to send Fernando Torres away despite his recent arrival and it is the right the call to make based on his start in Serie A. The 30-year-old Spanish international arrived from English giants Chelsea this summer but the Rossoneri hierarchy already look happy to cut his two-year loan short.

Torres has played 10 league games so far for AC Milan, he has started in eight of them, but he has only scored one goal. Filippo Inzaghi may not have enough depth in his squad to build the team around Torres but the former Liverpool star has not really made the best of his chances.

Inzaghi has had to rely on players who are not natural strikers to provide goals for the Rossoneri this season, who, unlike Torres, have clearly shown to be more productive. Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda has played out wide on the right wing under Inzaghi, but still managed six goals in his first seven Serie A matches.

Attacking midfielder Jeremy Menez arrived from French giants Paris Saint-Germain during the summer, like Torres. Inzaghi first used him as a false no.9. Now he is playing as an out-and-out striker with freedom to roam and both Menez and AC Milan are benefitting from the role change. Menez has scored eight goals in 15 Serie A matches for the Rossoneri, including five in the last five rounds. Prior to this season, Menez had never scored more than seven goals in a single league season, a feat that he achieved twice at Ligue 1 side Monaco and once at PSG.

Honda and Menez are not the only attack-minded players at AC Milan to have scored more than Torres however. Giacomo Bonaventura is a new arrival from Atalanta and he has played in a variety of positions under Inzaghi’s tutelage. Despite being moved all over the pitch, Bonaventura has scored three goals thus far.

Torres was brought to the club because he was meant to be the prolific goal-scorer AC Milan sought to replace the departed Mario Balotelli. Instead of seeing him regain the form that made him a star at Liverpool, AC Milan fans have had to suffer like the Chelsea supporters and watch the Spanish international continuously misfire in front of goal.

Despite his poor form and Jose Mourinho’s declaration that there isn’t enough room for Torres back at Chelsea, “El Nino” still seems to attract interest from other clubs with the January transfer window approaching. Bundesliga club Schalke were reportedly interested in buying him, as well as having been linked with returns to Liverpool and boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

fernando torres milanReturning to one of his former employers might be ideal for him because he would have familiar surroundings and would be eligible to play in European competitions for the remainder of this season.

It certainly looks as though Fernando Torres is already no longer welcome at AC Milan, but it would be too easy to say that he lacks the tactical nous to outfox the defences in Serie A. Based on his form with Chelsea and the Rossoneri, he is a shadow of his former self as well as lacking the necessary confidence in front of goal.

Even if Torres can regain his scoring touch, it looks unlikely that he will be able to achieve it at AC Milan. There are other players simply doing a better job with the Rossoneri at the moment.

Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria

 

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