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Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti claims he has been offered Chelsea star Fernando Torres in January
The former Stamford Bridge boss has also conceded agents have touted a host of strikers to his club, including Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Edinson Cavani
17 Jan 2012 08:26:00
By Chris Davie
Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed he has been offered Chelsea striker Fernando Torres this month.
Ancelotti signed the 27-year-old from Liverpool for £50 million almost a year ago but the forward has struggled for form since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, scoring just five goals in 41 appearances.
Paris Saint-Germain, who are looking to sign a striker this month, have been heavily linked with Carlos Tevez after talks between Manchester City and AC Milan over the Argentine collapsed last week, and the Ligue 1 club are now reportedly in a race with Inter for the 27-year-old's signature.
Ancelotti also conceded his Qatari-backed side have been offered a host of strikers to sign this month, including Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with a return to former club Bayer Leverkusen.
"There is a lot of choice for this January market," Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Do you want the names? Ok, now I tell you the players the agents are offering on the market, officially or not: Tevez, Torres, Berbatov, [Roman] Pavlyuchenko, [Edinson] Cavani, [Fernando] Llorente."
Ancelotti reflected on his time at Chelsea and admitted Andre Villas-Boas' aim to freshen the squad with younger players is a tough task. The Italian also feels Didier Drogba should have been sold following the arrival of Torres, as the Ivory Coast international's form has made it difficult for the Spaniard to settle.
"Villas Boas? I don't judge his work. I believe coaching Chelsea in a generational turnover is difficult," he said.
"If you decide to invest on Torres, you have to sell Drogba. He's like [Filippo] Inzaghi, he tends to devour whoever competes with him. He's not bad, but this is his personality."
Ancelotti added: "I have received hundreds of phone calls from agents offering me players ever since I signed with PSG. They have offered me some incredible names. Players who have just signed spectacular contracts elsewhere.
"They all want to come here. There's the city of Paris, there's money and there's a coach with a good reputation."
Despite not scoring since October, Torres has been undertaking extra finishing practice in training in a bid to recapture his form.
"Fernando is working very hard at his finishing. We do a lot of finishing as part of the sessions anyway but he [Torres] is doing extra at the end of every session during the week," Chelsea's assistant coach Steve Holland told Chelsea TV.
"His finishing is looking very good in training, the ball is flying in. I have personally spent some time with him on making sure [he's in the right position].
"Sometimes when you're trying hard to score, you end up in areas where you're less likely to score. It's not a bad crime, it's only because he's so determined."
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Ancelotti signed the 27-year-old from Liverpool for £50 million almost a year ago but the forward has struggled for form since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, scoring just five goals in 41 appearances.
Paris Saint-Germain, who are looking to sign a striker this month, have been heavily linked with Carlos Tevez after talks between Manchester City and AC Milan over the Argentine collapsed last week, and the Ligue 1 club are now reportedly in a race with Inter for the 27-year-old's signature.
Ancelotti also conceded his Qatari-backed side have been offered a host of strikers to sign this month, including Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, who has been linked with a return to former club Bayer Leverkusen.
"There is a lot of choice for this January market," Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Do you want the names? Ok, now I tell you the players the agents are offering on the market, officially or not: Tevez, Torres, Berbatov, [Roman] Pavlyuchenko, [Edinson] Cavani, [Fernando] Llorente."
Ancelotti reflected on his time at Chelsea and admitted Andre Villas-Boas' aim to freshen the squad with younger players is a tough task. The Italian also feels Didier Drogba should have been sold following the arrival of Torres, as the Ivory Coast international's form has made it difficult for the Spaniard to settle.
"Villas Boas? I don't judge his work. I believe coaching Chelsea in a generational turnover is difficult," he said.
"If you decide to invest on Torres, you have to sell Drogba. He's like [Filippo] Inzaghi, he tends to devour whoever competes with him. He's not bad, but this is his personality."
Ancelotti added: "I have received hundreds of phone calls from agents offering me players ever since I signed with PSG. They have offered me some incredible names. Players who have just signed spectacular contracts elsewhere.
"They all want to come here. There's the city of Paris, there's money and there's a coach with a good reputation."
Despite not scoring since October, Torres has been undertaking extra finishing practice in training in a bid to recapture his form.
"Fernando is working very hard at his finishing. We do a lot of finishing as part of the sessions anyway but he [Torres] is doing extra at the end of every session during the week," Chelsea's assistant coach Steve Holland told Chelsea TV.
"His finishing is looking very good in training, the ball is flying in. I have personally spent some time with him on making sure [he's in the right position].
"Sometimes when you're trying hard to score, you end up in areas where you're less likely to score. It's not a bad crime, it's only because he's so determined."
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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