Monday 21 July 2014 14:47, UK
Atletico Madrid midfielder Raul Garcia says Fernando Torres would be welcomed back to the Primera Division champions with open arms if he opts to leave Chelsea.
Torres has been linked with a summer move back to Atletico, where the Spain international came up through the ranks to captain the first team before moving to Liverpool in 2007.
Despite the striker failing to recapture his explosive form at Anfield since moving to Chelsea for £50million in January 2011, Garcia insists the 30-year-old would fit right back in at Atletico.
"I speak to him (Torres) a lot and he still feels very strongly about this club," Garcia told a press conference.
"His life has been defined by what he experienced here and he is another option just like any other that the media have mentioned. Any great player that can come here will be welcome."
Should Torres move back to Atletico it would reverse the flow of players moving in the opposite direction this summer, with Chelsea having already signed striker Diego Costa and left-back Filipe Luis from the Spanish side for a combined £48 million, as well as ending goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' three-season loan spell in Madrid.
Now the Blues - despite manager Jose Mourinho saying the club's summer transfer dealings are now over - are reported to be interested in luring Atletico defender Miranda to west London too, but Garcia does not believe his Brazilian team-mate is going anywhere.
"If we took every transfer story seriously we would only have about two or three players left here," he said.
"The club has to manage these things, but Miranda is an important player for us."
