7 Possible January Destinations for Fernando Torres

Earlier this month, it looked as though it may be curtains for Chelsea's big-money signing.

Fernando Torres had only scored one goal for the side since January, and a string of mediocre performances had manager Andre Villas-Boas warning the star striker that his days at Stamford Bridge may be numbered, culminating in his being put on the bench in their match against Sunderland. 

But now, it looks like Chelsea's £50 million man may not be a £50 million flop after all.

Over the past several weeks, he's experienced a resurgence with a pair of great goals and an assist, not to mention a significant increase in confidence.

He's had a few serious mishaps, like the open-goal miss against Manchester United and his red card against Swansea, but on the whole, he's looking more like the headliner Chelsea slated him to be.

Although his improvement will spell a longer stay at Stamford Bridge, some clubs are still reportedly looking to make a move for Torres in January. 

(Nota bene: 'Possible' in no way means 'probable.')

Atlético Madrid

One club in possible contention to bring on Torres is the very footballing outfit where he cut his teeth: Atlético Madrid.

Torres knows the club and has played under manager Gregorio Manzano before, so he would be likely to adjust well and the Rojiblancos have been rumored to be interested in bringing Torres back to the Manzanares.

But after the signings of Radamel Falcao, who has impressed so far this season with Atlético, and former Deportivo star Adrián, they will be less inclined to bring on an additional striker in January.

Málaga CF

After a disappointing mid-table finish last season and recent relegation close calls, the Andalusian side, newly flush with cash thanks to the team's new Qatari royal owner Sheikh Al-Thani, is looking to sign some big names. 

Among them is Torres, who would join the club's motley crew of recently-signed headliners, among them Júlio Baptista, former Bayern Munich star Martín Demichelis and the prolific Champions League top scorer, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Complementing Baptista or José Rondon (for whom Torres could also have some aid in developing) in the striker rotation, Nando could bring power to Málaga's attack and drum up interest in a newly-resurgent Los Boquerones.

AC Milan

The Rossoneri are reportedly in talks to bring in Torres on a player-swap deal with Chelsea in January.

Earlier this month, reports began to surface that AC Milan wanted to bring Torres in on a one-year loan spell or a player swap deal for one of their strikers, either Robinho or Alexandre Pato. 

Chelsea's preferred end of the transaction would be now-injured 22-year-old speed demon Pato, who made Barcelona sweat during a Champions League match earlier this month with a rapid-fire goal in their 2-2 draw.

But given Pato's performance as of late, Milan may be less likely to give him up.

Juventus

Juventus is one of three big Italian clubs who have expressed interest in bringing Torres on a loan move.

After making a big signing on deadline day with the acquisition of Hamburg winger Eljero Elia, the Old Lady may be looking for a follow-up swoop to match.

But Juve just brought on a pair of promising strikers in Mirko Vučinić and Fabio Quagliarella, the latter of whom had an impressive loan spell at Juve before an injury left him on the bench.

Not to mention their three primary veterans who are still going.

And Antonio Conte's side is out of European competition, which would not hold much appeal for Torres, especially when Chelsea is at the top of Group E in the Champions League.

Inter Milan

The Nerazzurri, who have been struggling to assert themselves in Serie A so far this season and brought in new manager Claudio Ranieri in hopes to make some improvements, are one of three Serie A clubs that were subjected to Torres-related transfer buzz earlier this month.

But now that Inter has begun building up a stronger team of strikers, among them Mauro Zárate and Diego Forlán, the move to bring on Torres seems like far less of a possibility. 

Anzhi Makhachkala

Who isn't Anzhi Makhachkala trying to buy these days?

Last I heard, they were making a January move for the entire Bleacher Report football staff, but we had to politely decline.

Conflict of interest, or something. 

According to a report from GiveMeFootball, Torres is on the super-mega-rich Russian side's radar for January.

Of all the possible options for Nando come January, this is probably the least likely. But, then again, many fans had never heard of Anzhi until they bagged Samuel Eto'o, and Suleyman Kerimov is also seeking to sign Torres' Chelsea teammate, Frank Lampard.

Basically, anything can happen.

But probably not this. Definitely not this.

Chelsea FC

Of course, Torres could just stay at the Bridge. (And he probably will.)

He's starting to get his confidence back and has showed strides of improvement just in the past several weeks.

When he can connect with the other great attackers like Juan Mata and an up-and-coming Daniel Sturridge, he becomes a valuable component of the Blues' attack.

He's scored a pair of great goals and effectively ended his long-suffering drought, and even when he doesn't score, he still plays well.

Even with these other destinations buzzing about, as he shows he still has much to offer, Andre Villas-Boas and his Chelsea teammates will be ready to give him more time to show what he can do.

Plus, there's that whole issue of Chelsea dropping £50 million to bring him over in the first place and signing a pair of midfielders (Juan Mata and Raul Meireles) in part as complements for Torres.

Chelsea have invested way too much in Nando to let him go so soon.

Sure, there was that open-goal miss and his getting sent off against Swansea, which have led to some reservations.

But, generally, Torres has proved in the past several weeks that he can be an asset to Chelsea's attack, and it looks like he'll stick around longer.