Torres - Can He Return to Scoring Form Next Season?

At the age of 28 Torres will be among Chelsea's veteran players next season. A wealth of experience, and ideally reaching the prime of his career.

But last season, many people were rightly disappointed with the minimal impact he had at the club. In all competitions he appeared 49 times, and scored 11 goals. Not a great return on the most expensive player in Premier League history.

Their have been claims that the always looming presence of star striker Didier Drogba put too much pressure on the £50 Million signing. Yet, when the Ivorian was away in January for the African Cup of Nations, Fernando's performances didn't really improve.

However, looking at the Chelsea line-up for most of the season, it really can't be much of a surprise that Torres wasn't delivering in terms of goals. During the first half of the season, the man that can compliment Torres (Juan Mata) was pushed out to the left by AVB and so often Torres was starved of service. Even in the later stages of the season, the direct play that suits Torres was often substituted for a more gritty style of football. Also, the lack of width often lead to Torres going wide or dropping deep to make things happen, which meant when they did happen, he was standing in the wrong parts of the pitch.

Torres looks more confident heading into next season

In the Spain friendly against Korea Republic on 30th May, Torres played up front, and scored from a terrific header in the 12th minute(ironically very much a 'Drogba goal'). Throughout the game(until his 57th minute subsititution) Torres seemed to try and remain at the top end of the pitch, waiting for scoring opportunites to come his way. This is the kind of Torres that will be needed at Stamford Bridge next season.

With players that are both creative and able to play in wide positions such as Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Hulk, Torres should get more of the delivery that he craves in order to score goals.  Eden Hazard provided 16 assists in the Ligue 1 2011/12 season, whilst Mata provided 13. Also Mark Marin can join that list of 'Assist Kings'. Since breaking into the first team of Borussia Monchengladbach at the age of 18, he has never ended a Bundesliga season with less than 10 assists (until this season when moved out of his natural winger position, think of it as a reverse Juan Mata). Marin also recorded 18 assists in all competitions during the 2009/10 season.

So with so much creativity around him, and players that know how to set up goal scoring opportunities, surely the 2012/13 season is the one where Fernando Torres will rediscover his scoring boots?

Let me know your thoughts on twitter @worldofchelsea or in the comment section below!

Posted in: eden hazard, Juan Mata, Marko Marin, spain, Torres