Following the sale of Mario Balotelli to Liverpool in a £16 million deal, AC Milan are looking to bring Fernando Torres to Italy on loan as a direct replacement. The club are also working on a deal to sign young midfielder Marco van Ginkel from Chelsea before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.
The Daily Star reports that the Italian side have confirmed that they have made offers for both players, with the paper quoting AC Milan administrator Adriano Galliani as saying:
“We are in the last stages of the [transfer] market and we will see if we are able to acquire an important forward. This is our main aim.
“Torres is certainly an important forward and we will see if we can sign him or another player.
“Van Ginkel? It’s possible. We have written to Chelsea and are awaiting a response. We are optimistic.”
Van Ginkel has only made four appearances in all competitions since joining the London club in 2013 from Vitesse, though his limited playing time could be attributed to a serious injury he sustained in September.
It appears unlikely that Chelsea would allow a player they only bought a year ago to leave the club permanently. However, with other players ahead of him in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho might be favourable towards a loan deal that would see the player continue to develop at a big European club.
Meanwhile Torres appears to be out of favour at Chelsea. New signings Diego Costa and Didier Drogba are preferred up front and the Spanish striker has yet to feature in a game this season. The 30-year-old has largely been seen as a flop since joining Chelsea, having only scored 20 goals in 110 league appearances.
A loan deal would suit all parties involved as it means Torres would get to play regular football and Chelsea would get a significant reduction in their wage bill with AC Milan paying a proportion of the player’s wages.
