While all this was brewing and players were coming out and saying "Transfers are part and parcel of Football, we have to learn to live with them", it has been undermined whether Fernando Torres might just be the next Andriy Shevchenko. Both were huge names at there respective clubs and had a terrific European Reputation before making a big money transfer to Chelsea Football Club. Andriy Shevchenko was a close friend of Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club, and he wanted the lethal front-man at his club. Money was transfered and Shevchenko was now bleeding blue. Not identical, but Abramovich did not hide his liking of Torres from the day Torres scored 16 minutes into his debut against Chelsea. When news broke out Torres was ready to move on, Abramovich was ready to splash the cash.
A similarity between the Torres and Shevchenko transfers is, did the manager actually want them in there squad? It is a understandable to assume that any manager would be very happy to have such a lethal attacking option in there squad, but did the manager actually want another striker when other areas of the squad need more improvement?
At present Chelsea Football Club need width on the flanks and some creative spark in midfield to drive them forward. A Right Winger and Attacking Midfielder should and maybe would have been high on the priority list for Carlo Ancelotti, but not according to the owner.
In both cases, Roman Abramovich might have imposed himself and gotten his wish, like he was playing fantasy football, but what does it signal to the current forwards in the squad? How does a manager explain the rationale and maintain dressing room harmony? Is it a direct signal to the players "Well you are not good enough, so I have to spend 50 Million on a new player" ? If not direct, at some point it must have crossed the minds of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou.
In the game against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Torres was still seen fuming and somewhat sulking. He scuffed the best chance of the game when another new acquisition David Luiz gave him the perfect ball he had craved for at Liverpool. Torres got exactly what he wanted, playing in a team with more high-profile players, Champions League Football, a big money move and a fatter contract but still he didn't seem as happy as his early days when he arrived at Liverpool.
When Shevchenko was signed, he tried playing alongside a more dedicated-to-the-cause and physically stronger Didier Drogba and remarkably failed. It remains to be seen what Chelsea Football Club get from Torres, who a few weeks back was seen sulking and ruing in matches for a club he had greater passion. Shevchenko and Drogba on the team-sheet meant managers had extra preparation to do before they faced Chelsea, but as it turned out not much had to be done.
Shevchenko never really lit up the Stamford Bridge faithful from the day he arrived and nor is Torres doing himself any favors by the his below-par performances. When Chelsea fans are not excited by the purchase of striker of the calibre of Fernando Torres and at the Bridge you hear chants like "You were a waste of Money", it really says a lot about what has happened. Torres should have left English football and gone to Italy or back to Spain because now he risks losing the legacy and following he had achieved while he was a Kop idol.
Shevchenko arrived at Chelsea from Milan having started his career at childhood club Dynamo Kyiv. After a disastrous spell at Chelsea he was loaned back to Milan and then sent packing back to Kyiv. His reputation was down in the dumps and he was no longer the Shevchenko who gave defenders nightmares.
If this is deja vu, Torres who came to Liverpool from Athletico Madrid, his childhood club, and now a player at Chelsea could end up back at Athletico Madrid. Although a loan spell in between at Liverpool would be a marriage made in hell between him and the Kop faithful.
