Chelsea striker Fernando Torres to join AC Milan permanently from Jan. 5

Fernando Torres' Chelsea career is officially
over after the Premier League leaders
announced he will make his loan move to AC
Milan permanent next month.
Torres, 30, won the Champions League, the
Europa League and the FA Cup in three-and-a-
half years at Stamford Bridge, but he never
lived up to expectations after a 50 million-
pound transfer from Liverpool, failing to
replicate his once-prolific scoring record in
London.
He moved to Milan on a two-year loan in
August and, although he has been strongly
linked with a return to his first club Atletico
Madrid in recent days, on Saturday Chelsea
announced a deal had been reached for him to
join Milan permanently from Jan. 5.
A statement said: "Fernando Torres is to join
AC Milan on a permanent basis. The striker
moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal
in August and on January 5 he will complete a
permanent transfer to the Serie A side.
"Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his
service during the past four seasons and
wishes him the very best for the future."
The deal does not rule out a return to Atletico
in the upcoming transfer window. The Spanish
champions have indicated they do not have the
funds for a permanent deal themselves, but
may yet sign him on another loan deal from
Milan once he has left Chelsea, or complete a
swap deal with Alessio Cerci going the other
way.
A return home could be what Torres needs to
reignite a once-sparkling career. The World Cup
winner and double European champion scored
46 goals in 172 Chelsea appearances, but only
20 of those came in 110 league outings -- a poor
return when compared with the 65 Premier
League goals he scored in 102 appearances for
Liverpool.
Torres moved to Stamford Bridge late on
January transfer deadline day in 2011 for a
then-record British fee, but initial struggles
soon appeared to be a crisis of confidence as
he managed just one goal in 18 appearances
before the end of the season.
The following season he scored 11 goals,
including a hat trick against QPR and a vital
breakaway goal against Barcelona in the
Champions League semifinal, but still looked a
shadow of himself.
His best season in a Chelsea shirt came in the
following campaign as he scored 22 goals
across seven competitions, including the winner
in the Europa League final against Benfica. Yet
he managed only 11 goals the following season,
after which Jose Mourinho broke up his
misfiring striking trio of Torres, Samuel Eto'o
and Demba Ba, all of whom left the club.
Torres' move to Milan has not exactly seen his
form ignite, with only one goal in 10
appearances, but that has not prevented a
deal being done.