Chelsea and United forwards linked as Balotelli replacements – report

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AC Milan have been been linked with Chelsea’s Fernando Torres and Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez, according to reports in Italy.

AC Milan have been linked with Fernando Torres as Mario Balotelli’s replacement, according to a report in Italy.

The Chelsea striker has supposedly been offered to the Italian giants on loan by the London club and representatives from the two sides reportedly met yesterday to discuss his transfer.

Jose Mourinho has previously commented that he wanted to keep the faltering Spanish striker at Stamford Bridge this season, but it appears he could be set to depart after-all.

Whether he goes or not will largely depend on whether Milan manage to acquire their first-choice target or not, though.

Pippo Inzaghi’s men have identified Porto’s Jackson Martinez as their top target to replace Balotelli, who is set to complete a move to Liverpool in the near future.

Martinez has a far more profilic hit-rate than Torres over the past few seasons, but the experienced Spaniard does still remain a back-up option.

It is intriguing that Chelsea have offered him out, due to the lack of strikers at the club at the moment.

The Blues brought in Diego Costa to lead their line this summer, but their decision to sell Romelu Lukaku remains a surprise and the aforementioned Torres and the ageing Didier Drogba are their only options in reserve positions.

The 30-year-old’s departure would, therefore, leave them short in attacking positions and it could suggest that Mourinho has a plan to bring in another attacker this summer if they are offering him out.

At the moment, Torres’s inflated wages are likely to block any forwards coming in, but by relinquishing him there would certainly be a potential spot for a new signing to come in.

Torres is not the only striker on Milan’s potential list of additions from the Premier League, though. Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez is thought to be on his way out of Old Trafford, after only scoring four times last season, and United officials appear to have already tried to capitalise on the Balotelli situation to offload him.

Similarly to Torres, Milan would take Hernandez on loan rather than making him a permanent signing, but he could be a good addition at the San Siro.

Balotelli scored 26 times in 43 appearances for the Serie A giants, meaning whoever they pick will have some big shoes to step in to and Hernandez or Torres would have to show a marked improvement on their recent Premier League form if they were selected to fill the void.