Fernando Torres appeared to be on the verge of leaving Liverpool
after his agent indicated the striker is bound for another Premier
League club.
Chelsea are at the front of the queue to sign the Spaniard and
Manchester City also showed interest before moving on to other
targets when they got little encouragement from the
26-year-old.
Agent Jose Antonio Martin said: ‘It is very likely that Fernando
Torres will stay in the Premier League, but I cannot say that it
will be with Liverpool. We are working on his future but right now
you cannot guarantee that he will stay with the English club.’
Pastures new: Fernando Torres' agent claims the
striker could leave Liverpool for another Premier League
team
Tough task: Roy Hodgson could face a player exodus
at Anfield
Barcelona have been linked with a move for Torres, but Martin
made it clear they will not challenge Chelsea for Torres’
signature.
‘It is ruled out,’ said Martin. ‘Barcelona have signed David
Villa and now they want to invest the money they have in other
players.’
Sportsmail revealed in
May that Torres was a £70million target for Chelsea and, despite
Roy Hodgson insisting he would do all he could to keep the Spaniard
and Steven Gerrard, the new Liverpool manager could offer no
guarantees.
Having already sold Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea, Hodgson would
prefer to raise funds for his squad rebuilding by selling the likes
of Javier Mascherano and Albert Riera.
But Hodgson knows such is the state of Liverpool’s finances —
their debt is £472.5m — a big offer from either Chelsea or City for
Torres will be almost impossible to turn down.
Torres says talk about his future must wait until Spain’s World
Cup campaign is over.
He said: 'My future is here in South Africa. It is too important
to think about what happens after that.
'I was happy he got the job. He did really well at Fulham and I
am sure he can do better for Liverpool. After the World Cup, I'll
have time to talk with him. But I have a contract, that's the
reality.'
Up for grabs: Torres and Steven Gerrard could both
leave Liverpool this summer
Torres - who had ankle surgery in April - has also defended
himself after his difficult start to the Word Cup finals, where
Spain have reached the semi-finals.
He added: 'It is a difficult tournament for me. I didn't arrive
in the best moment in terms of fitness, especially after two
operations but I'm happy with the things I am doing.
'Hopefully the manager and the team are happy as well. Everyone
has to try to give a bit to the team to get the best.'
