Fernando Torres Transfer News: Latest Details on Atletico Madrid Move

Fernando Torres' dream return to Atletico Madrid will happen as soon as his current loan with AC Milan can be made permanent when the January transfer window opens in Italy.

In a complicated deal, Milan will make Torres' switch from Chelsea permanent in order to facilitate his new loan to Atletico.

Continue for updates.

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Atletico Announce Torres Deal

Monday, Dec. 29

Torres expressed his delight on Monday as Atletico announced to the world his long-awaited return to Spanish champions, pending a medical (h/t AS):

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Alessio Cerci Expected to be Part of Torres Deal

Sunday, Dec. 28

"Speculation is now rife that [Alessio] Cerci will move to Milan as part of a deal that will see Fernando Torres return to former club Atletico," reported Mark Doyle of Goal.com. 

"The negotiations for Cerci are well under way... Torres has become a Milan player but when the market opens we'll see what happens," AC Milan boss Filippo Inzaghi said, courtesy of Doyle.

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Chelsea Announces Permanent Move, Torres' Brother Comments

Saturday, Dec. 27

The Blues released an official statement on their website:

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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.

Torres, 30, spent three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, in which time he helped Chelsea lift the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup. ...

In the busy 2012/13 season his 22 goals were spread over seven competitions, a club record.

Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his service during the past four seasons and wishes him the very best for the future.

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The 30-year-old was widely expected not to return to Stamford Bridge once his two-year loan spell with Milan ended, as his contract would run out simultaneously.

Despite the move to make the loan permanent, Milan have little interest in keeping Torres around any longer. The Spanish striker has scored just one goal in 591 Serie A minutes, per WhoScored.com, continuing the disappointing run that saw him leave west London in the first place.

Instead, Torres is expected to go back to Atletico Madrid, the club where he established himself as a superstar, with transfer flop Alessio Cerci heading in the other direction, via Eurosport.com:

Marca provided comments from Israel Torres, Fernando Torres' brother, who spoke about how the soccer star is looking forward to an Atletico return.

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'Fernando is very happy and excited,' he said. 'I've spoken to Fernando, he's in Dubai at the moment. He'd have liked to be here to support Carlos [a journalist and former footballer who was forced to retire because of ALS],' he explained before adding that his brother is 'very happy' about the 'opportunity' that he has been given to return to Atletico de Madrid.​ 

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ESPN.com's Ben Gladwell talked about why Milan are likely to abort their Torres experiment after less than a season at the San Siro:

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Torres no longer seems to fit in the plans of Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi, who instead needs a player who can fill in for Keisuke Honda while he is involved in the Asian Cup. Cerci, who netted 13 goals for Torino playing in a similar role to the Japanese forward, could be a suitable replacement.

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Manager Diego Simeone has had little use for the Italy international, who has been overtaken by French youngster Antoine Griezmann in the pecking order since the winger joined from Torino in the summer.

The lack of playing minutes has clearly affected the Italian, who was one of the summer's most sought-after men, via Footy Vines:

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Alessio Cerci ladies and gentlemen!... http://t.co/QiHTsMD5CQ

— Footy Vines (@Footy_Vines) December 27, 2014"

Torres' permanent departure from Chelsea brings closure to one of the oddest partnerships in world football. A star with Atletico and Liverpool, the Spaniard completed a big-money move to Stamford Bridge but became the butt of jokes for his tendency to miss open chances, and he never lived up to his price tag.

His impeccable work rate and movement up front were pivotal in Spain's dominance at the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships, however, and he cemented his place in Chelsea folklore with this pivotal goal against Barcelona:

A lack of consistent scoring saw the Blues turn toward the transfer market in the summer of 2014, and Diego Costa's arrival signalled the end of Torres' time in the Premier League.

Perhaps a return to his native Spain can help him rediscover some of the old magic and book a spot on Spain's national team for Euro 2016.