Chelsea overpaid for Torres

Posted Tuesday, February 22, 2011 by UK.eurosport.yahoo.com

With the arrival of Fernando Torres at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea could become even more dangerous for their opponents. The trio of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Torres represents a real danger.

Chelsea have improved their attacking power which was already significant but, in order to be a real success for the club, Torres needs to settle in with the squad.

Moreover, the three strikers have to learn how to live together; there isn't any reason why they should fail.

The interests of the team must be put first. When you are playing for Chelsea or any other top European club you have to realise you are in competition with highly-skilled players. Competition is part of football.

Torres's integration may require some readjustments at the club. Today, Chelsea has three of the best centre-forwards in the world, and they may have to sacrifice one of these players.

The crucial point is what the Chelsea board had in mind when they signed Torres. I would like to know this, and Carlo Ancelotti will have to answer this question in the very near future.

Does the transfer reveal their wish to get rid of Drogba or Anelka during the next transfer period? I really don't know, because those players are still competitive and important for the Chelsea squad.

Torres was a last-minute transfer, and as a result Chelsea had to pay for it.

Consequently, we can estimate that Chelsea paid an additional amount for Torres, equivalent to about 15 per cent. In this case emotion and a lack of time saw the market value become inflated.