Chelsea manager José Mourinho has dismissed reports linking £50million flop Fernando Torres with a move away from the club, saying that he will not leave as he wants three strikers in his squad.

The Blues' record signing, 30, had been linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge having been pushed down to third in the pecking order by the arrivals of Diego Costa and returning hero Didier Drogba, but Mourinho has reiterated his desire for the Spaniard to stay. 

Torres' future has been the subject of speculation for much of the summer transfer window but when asked about the subject, Mourinho said, "I want him to stay. He will play and score goals, and be very useful for us. I want three strikers in the team. Sometimes I play with two, one on the bench, sometimes someone will be injured or suspended. I cannot do a season without three strikers." Torres was left out of Chelsea's squad which beat newly-promoted Leicester 2-0 on Saturday, but Mourinho insists that this does not mean he is on his way out of the club. "The reason is I decided to keep the same team, to have a bench with a complete balance. Sometimes I can have two strikers on the bench, sometimes I can't."

After former club Atlético Madrid baulked at their former hero's wage demands and Wolfsburg ended up with Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner, there had been some interest from Italy in Torres' signature. AC Milan are the latest club to be linked with a possible move for the forward, but there has also been talk of a potential deal with Roma including Mattia Destro going the other way. Destro would be a popular acquisition among Chelsea fans but whether he would be keen to sit on the Stamford Bridge bench is quite another matter, so for the time being Torres seems to be staying in London.

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Sam France
Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Features Editor at VAVEL UK, part of the VAVEL team 2014-2018.