Why Fernando Torres Will Spend 1 More Season at Atletico Madrid

One of Atletico Madrid's big decisions to make over the remainder of the season, irrespective of trophy success or otherwise, will be what to do with club legend Fernando Torres.

His loan deal from AC Milan is due to expire at the end of the campaign and, as yet, no decision has been taken with whether to keep him on board or let him return to his parent club. Atleti attacker Alessio Cerci complicates the situation, as he went the opposite way but has not shone at Milan while on loan.

We have already indicated that the right call for Atletico would be to stick with Torres—and now we address the issues of for how long, and what happens in the future.

New Deal

First and foremost, Torres has to convince the club that he is worthy of keeping on board. His all-round performances, if not his goal tally, from this season suggests that is the case—though that is perhaps partly dependent on the performances of others.

Had Jackson Martinez, for example, hit the goal trail early on then it's debatable whether Torres would have had as much game time; the fact that the Colombian has struggled means Torres has played often, and he has shown tremendous desire, good link play and no shortage of creativity at times.

Boss Diego Simeone has said, per Marca (h/t Sport.net) he will consider Torres' future as a player and by what he brings to the team, not as an icon of the club. On the evidence of the season so far, the manager would probably rank the former Liverpool and Chelsea forward as his second-best forward.

The deal to bring Torres to Atletico should be a financially viable one on another year-long loan, or even buying out his Milan contract and giving him a season-long deal at the Vicente Calderon.

Guidance and Emergence

While Torres, as one of the older heads at the club, can provide experience on the pitch and his own traits of play, it's also notable that much of this new-look Atletico Madrid squad are much younger and, naturally as a result, have won much less.

Torres can provide an important example to the likes of Angel Correa and Luciano Vietto—perhaps not in terms of style of play or points of improvement but certainly in his professional approach, an ability to shield them from too much exposure to media attention or overexertion in game time, and plenty of other everyday football factors besides.

He's an established player, a former international and a World Cup winner, as well as an Atletico legend; the younger forwards cannot help but be impressed at the bond between Torres and the fans and will only gain a greater affection toward the club if they see they could be treated in similar fashion.

Naturally, age and talent will eventually affect the balance of play in terms of minutes on the pitch, though, and while Correa has shone in spells this term, the hope must be he emerges as a more consistent threat over the coming 18 months, and the same goes for Vietto, though in a shorter time frame.

Sooner or later, they will usurp Torres from a regular starting spot, though, and need their own regular starting spot to flourish. Another year at the club could see Torres be the ideal bridge between the current regular lineup, and the ideal future one where Correa and Antoine Griezmann or Vietto are regularly seen in tandem and scoring goals.

Beyond

Each footballer is different and has different motivations, ideas, plans or regard for the sport in each part of the world, but Fernando Torres seems particularly well-suited to a move to MLS.

Just as former international strike partner David Villa has gone on to be a figurehead and icon at his new club, NYCFC, so too could Torres be a notable capture for a club in a rapidly growing league, where his name and achievements would be lauded upon arrival...but his abilities more properly appreciated, too, while he still retains talent.

Torres isn't the lightning-quick player of old, but he has good movement and work rate, can still beat defenders one-on-one and is, somewhere inside, still a finisher. It hasn't been seen too often this year, but flashes of old genius in La Liga would likely translate to semi-regular stardom in MLS. If he gets more space and chances on goal, it stands to reason that even without being as prolific in his Liverpool days, he'd still net plenty while playing stateside.

The No. 9 is an iconic number in world football and Torres has, since the early 2000s, been one of the biggest adverts for what that player represents. He'd be a coup for any MLS side—expansion or existing—and if he made the move over at 33, he'd still have plenty to give the game in the role, without perhaps feeling that he left his real home too early or with accomplishments still to achieve.

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