Is Torres the new Shevchenko?
Torres has scored no goals, been substituted twice and missed four chances in the matches he has played since an astonishing move from Anfield on transfer deadline day; and until he breaks that duck, the ghosts of Chelsea’s past are likely to be awakened.
It is hugely unfair on a player who cannot possibly by judged on 137 minutes of football in a blue shirt but the truth is the pressure of his transfer fee is further weighted by a history of big-money strikers who failed to deliver in west London.
Shevchenko, of course, is the leader of that particular entourage, costing as he did a club record £30m (€35.8m) from AC Milan in 2006 but proving a miserable flop during his time at Stamford Bridge as injury, old age and poor form appeared to converge just at the wrong moment to hamper — or indeed halt — his progress.
The Ukrainian was a popular member of the squad during his spell in England but his chances of becoming a Chelsea legend were further hit by persistent rumours he was signed by owner Roman Abramovich behind the back — and without the backing — of manager Jose Mourinho.
It is almost impossible to know if Torres finds himself in a similar situation, although it’s hard to imagine Carlo Ancelotti would have any objections to the arrival of a player who, unlike Shevchenko, is still young enough to recover from injuries that have blighted the last year of his career.
What chance, then, of El Nino becoming the new Sheva?
The prospect is almost unthinkable but so far the signs are not good.
Even Shevchenko made a better start, scoring a spectacular goal on his Chelsea debut in the Charity Shield and winning over The Shed with his very first touch; and the Milan veteran is by no means the only predecessor casting a shadow over Chelsea’s latest recruit.
Remember Adrian Mutu? He was a £15.8m (€18.8m) signing with a very high opinion of himself who started his career in London with a bang but then saw the goals dry up, before subsequently being sacked for taking cocaine.
His place in Chelsea’s vault of misery is assured, alongside Mateja Kezman, who cost £5m (€6m) from PSV but whose finishing was so wayward, there are still Chelsea pensioners ducking on Fulham Broadway every time they walk behind The Shed End on match day.
Hernan Crespo did little better, loaned back to Italy before eventually leaving the Bridge three years after an expensive arrival; and let’s not even get into Claudio Pizarro or the crocked Pierluigi Casiraghi.
Chelsea’s history of striking duds isn’t without a prologue, either; Robert Fleck seemed happy holed up in his Chelsea Harbour penthouse while playing for the reserves years after arriving from Norwich for £2.1m (€2.5m) in 1992 and who can forget Chris Sutton, one half of the SAS with Alan Shearer in Blackburn’s title-winning side but an embarrassing and expensive flop in west London?
No wonder Fulham supporters revelled in Torres’s agony at Craven Cottage on Monday with predictable chants of ‘what a waste of money’ as he trudged off the field after 71 minutes. Ancelotti chose to leave Drogba on the bench for that game, a clear indication that the Ivorian’s days could be numbered at Chelsea; and given Abramovich’s part in bringing Torres to the club, it’s hard to imagine the Spaniard suffering a similar fate any time in the near future.
The problem is Torres hasn’t played well for almost a year, going way back to before the World Cup where he was also a disappointment, and Chelsea right now is not an easy place to be.
He cannot play against Everton on Saturday in the FA Cup because he is cup-tied, so the next chance to end his duck is an away tie at Copenhagen in the Champions League four days later.
It could feel like a very long wait.
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