TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Reports
The Montreal Impact and Chicago Fire have competed for big-name players before, most memorably Didier Drogba. Now it seems that both clubs may be in the running for Fernando Torres.
The Spanish striker has been widely reported to be mulling a summer move to Chicago, who are coached by his friend and former teammate Veljko Paunovic, with MLSsoccer.com’s Paul Tenorio calling the Fire a “likely destination” for El Niño last week, noting that the Men in Red hold his MLS discovery rights.
This week, however, multiple Quebecois media outlets are reporting that the Impact are also pursuing the 34-year-old frontrunner.
Scribe and broadcast analyst Arcadio Marcuzzi has cited an anonymous source's word that “talks are currently underway between the Montreal club and the player's entourage,” while 98.5 Sports and The Canadian Press claim that IMFC executive Nick De Santis has spent the week in Spain, where Torres is planning his next move as he prepares to depart his boyhood club Atletico Madrid at season’s end.
The chase to sign Torres, who is also said to be considering options in China, appears far from over, and not everyone in Montreal is convinced that the 2010 World Cup winner makes sense for the Impact.
“There are several MLS teams on the record so far, including Seattle,” said TVA Sports’ Vincent Destouches. “However, rumors say it would be the Fire that would have priority, because Fernando Torres is on their list of priorities. It is certain that the Impact has a crying need in attack.
“But I think more than the Impact needs players that will allow it to attack. We saw the problems in the attack of the Impact in the absence of [midfielder] Saphir Taider. But if it happened, it would be a party.”
Torres has represented Spain more than 100 times and in three World Cups. He has 38 career international goals, including four at the World Cup and another five at the European Championship. He was part of the Spanish teams that won the 2010 World Cup and 2008 and 2012 Euros, and also carries a glittering club resume with stops at Liverpool and Chelsea.
