Fernando Torres could still return to Atlético after permanent Milan move

Torres, 30, won the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup in three and a half years at Stamford Bridge, but never lived up to expectations after a £50m transfer from Liverpool, failing to replicate his once-prolific scoring record in the capital. He moved to Milan on a two-year loan in August and, while he has been strongly linked with a return to his first club Atlético Madrid, on Saturday Chelsea announced a deal had been reached for him to move permanently from 5 January, Kazinform quotes the Guardian. "The striker moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal in August and on January 5 he will complete a permanent transfer to the Serie A side," read a Chelsea statement. "Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his service during the past four seasons and wishes him the very best for the future." The deal does not rule out a return to Atlético in the upcoming transfer window however. The Spanish champions have indicated they do not have the funds for a permanent deal themselves, but may yet sign him on another loan deal fromMilan once he has left Chelsea. On Saturday, before Torres's move to Milan was announced, the Atlético assistant Germán Burgos said the Spanish champions were close to tying up a deal for their former player. "It [the Torres deal] is on the verge of completion and we are waiting for things to firm up," Burgos was quoted as saying in Spanish media. "He will be a very important reinforcement for the second half of the season. We will get the best out of him, the same as everyone, and he knows where he is coming to." The same reports suggested that Atlético's Italian winger Alessio Cerci would move to Milan on loan as part of the deal, which would run until the end of the 2015-16 season, but on Saturday he denied on his Facebook page that he had signed for another club. "I am an Atlético Madrid player and together with the club I am considering the best solution for both," he wrote. "I think that is right and normal."