Fernando Torres

Ancelotti: I've been offered Torres

PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti has claimed he has been offered a number of high-profile players, including Chelsea's Fernando Torres and Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.

Fernando Torres worked under Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea before the Italian was sacked in May 2011

Ancelotti was in charge of Chelsea when Torres was signed for £50 million from Liverpool in January 2011, but the coach parted company with the club the following summer after finishing the season trophyless.

Torres has struggled to shine since the switch, scoring just three goals in 30 Premier League appearances, and has subsequently been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, with rumours this month suggesting he could leave in a cut-price deal.

Ancelotti has added fuel to reports Torres is open to leaving Chelsea, while the Italian coach, who only recently took over at PSG, has listed several players he claims are being courted for sales.

He said in the Daily Mail: "There is a lot of choice for this January market. Do you want the names?

"OK, now I tell you the players the agents are offering on the market, officially or not: Carlos Tevez, Fernando Torres, Dimitar Berbatov, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Edinson Cavani, Fernando Llorente."

Source: ESPN

Goal-shy Fernando Torres calls for extra training in bid to end goal drought

Fernando Torres has asked Chelsea for extra training sessions to work on his finishing in a bid to end his goal drought.

Watching game: Torres has not scored a goal for over 13 hours

The 27-year-old Spanish striker has clocked up over 13 hours without a goal for club and country and has been struggling for form ever since he moved to west London.

Torres celebrates his one-year anniversary as a Chelsea player at the end of this month, having moved for a British-record £50million from
Liverpool.

He has scored just five times in 41 appearances, with his last goal coming in the 5-0 Champions League win against Genk in October, and is now staying longer at training to rediscover his touch in front of goal.

Assistant coach Steve Holland told Chelsea TV: "Fernando is working very hard at his finishing in training. We do a lot of finishing as part of the sessions anyway but he is doing extra at the end of every session during the week.

"His finishing is looking very good in training, the ball is flying in. I have personally spent some time with him on making sure [he's in the right position].

"Sometimes when you're trying hard to score, you end up in areas where you're less likely to score.
"It's not a bad crime, it's only because he's so determined."

While Torres has not been a prolific goal scorer at Stamford Bridge, he has provided 11 assists for his team-mates this term. His latest came in the 1-0 victory against Sunderland on Saturday when his superb volley hit the bar and rebounded in off Frank Lampard.

The England international believes the extra sessions are making a difference to Torres's game and believes it is only a matter of time before his team-mate's luck turns.

Lampard said: "He is doing it in training and you can see a lift in him. I feel for him because he made a great connection for my goal when it hit the bar first.

"You're just waiting for that moment when he is going to bang two or three in. He is working his socks off, making runs and creating goals. We're all talking about that and rightly so."

Fellow Spaniard Oriol Romeu believes Torres's recent performances for Chelsea have gone some way to proving his critics wrong.

Torres's display against Martin O'Neill's side on Saturday was arguably his best for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and former Barcelona midfielder Romeu told the club's website: "People used to say that if he doesn't score goals then he is not playing good but that is not true. He is playing good for us and he helped us to get the goals.

"He was playing very good in the game at Wolves and now he played another big game for us. Every ball, he fights and he is big player for us.

"If he is happy, if he is enjoying it on the pitch, then he is going to play better and he helps us much more than if he is not enjoying it on the pitch.

"He is playing very good in the two last games and that is good news for us."

Chelsea's weekend victory saw them move four points clear of Arsenal in fifth and within six points of third-placed Tottenham.

Romeu added: "We need to go on winning the games to get close to the teams on top of the league. We need to go step by step.

"Now the league is very difficult but you can never say the league is over - you have to fight to the end."

Chelsea are expected to complete the £7m signing of Gary Cahill from Bolton today. The defender has passed his medical and the club are just waiting for the final paperwork to be processed before he is officially unveiled.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle today said: "My understanding is that everything is agreed.

"For me, it is just a matter of the contracts being exchanged between the relevant parties to conclude the deal.

"As far as I am concerned, Gary is joining Chelsea."

Source: London Evenening Standard