If Rafa Benitez was brought in to replace Roberto Di Matteo as manager of Chelsea because Roman Abramovich thought he would inspire Fernando Torres to find his old form, it failed. Benitez will not be at Stamford Bridge next season and neither, hopefully, will Torres. The club must accept that there is no chance of getting back much of the £50 million they paid to Liverpool for the Spaniard, but he may help the club in his own way.

Torres began his career at Atletico Madrid and burst on to the scene for club and country. He supported the club as a boy and may be heading back there. The manager, Diego Simeone, has spoken about Torres and suggested that he would be welcome back. That should be all the encouragement Chelsea need to offer Torres as part of a deal to bring the Colombian international striker Radamel Falcao to London and the Premier League.

It could make the difference in fighting off the likes of Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester City for the prolific 27-year old. Falcao, with 27 goals already this season, is on course to beat last year’s tally of 36, and the Spanish club have accepted that they will have to sell him this summer. Chelsea need to make sure that he does not go anywhere else but the Bridge.