The 29-year-old Fernando Torres was regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe during his time at Liverpool, notching up 81 goals in 142 appearances. He regularly terrorised opposing defences and scored goals for fun for the Reds.

However, he has endured a torrid time since his record-breaking £50 million move to Stamford Bridge in January 2011, scoring a paltry 31 goals in 119 appearances. He looks a shadow of his former self and has failed to recapture his Liverpool form for Chelsea, as yet.

His disappointing performances have led to speculation that he may be sold to fund a new arrival in the summer (read Radamel Falcao), with Atletico manager Diego Simeone revealing that he would like to re-sign their former captain.

However, Torres is determined to stay at the Bridge and recapture his goal-scoring touch. According to Metro, he said, “I’ve never hidden that I am grateful because Atletico gave me many things, but the reality is that I am in another team and I have three more years on my contract. I have a lot of things to give to Chelsea and many things to prove to myself before returning home. Returning to Atletico is not a reality.”

The Spain international scored two crucial goals in their Europa League 3-1 victory over Rubin Kazan, showing glimpses of his former self. However, he has failed to regularly hit the back of the net for the Blues and seems to score only in bursts. His form has really been woeful in the league, scoring just 7 goals in 29 appearances this season, the last of which was before Christmas.

It was envisaged by Blues fans that the striker could recapture his devastating form with the arrival of Benitez, who managed him at Anfield, but even under his tutelage, Torres looks a far cry from his devastating best.

He has lost that yard of pace which makes it really difficult for strikers to make runs behind defences, a former trademark of Torres.  Ask Michael Owen, and he would tell you how different his career would have been if he hadn’t lost that yard of pace after his Liverpool days.

Age is catching up with the 29-year-old and his speed can only decline from now on. It seems unlikely for him return to his prolific goal-scoring days, but one man who still believes in him is his current manager. Benitez has backed him to score more goals this season and lead Chelsea to Europa and FA Cup glory.

He said, “We always talk about strikers having to score goals so their confidence is there, and you could see that with Fernando. From the beginning I had no doubts with his work rate or movement but you could see his touch of the ball was much better after the first goal because of the confidence he had. He has 19 goals now, so maybe he doesn’t get enough credit. People were saying he hadn’t scored goals but now I’m sure he will score more.”