Well, well, well. All the pundits are going crazy at the moment, discussing just how long it will take Fernando Torres to settle in with the Blues, after already causing somewhat of a dressing-room uproar by shifting Didier Drogba to the bench on Monday night’s derby against Fulham.
Chris Baird already warned Chelsea that the Cottagers were not afraid of the Spaniard, as they had tactics to contain him the same way they did at Anfield. Torres lasted just five minutes longer than his debut spell against Liverpool last week, and wasted two very good opportunities to score.
There is no doubt that the 26-year-old will come good, but the recent performances of Daniel Sturridge, who is currently on loan at Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season, is showing that he can also score goals.
Of course, it would be absurd to say that Chelsea made a mistake in splashing £50 million on Torres and should have kept Sturridge because of his recent run of good form, but the England U-21 man is doing exactly what he should be doing: keeping his head down and proving his worth.
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The youngster has scored three goals in three appearances at Bolton so far and has produced worthy displays in each match. Of course, there is already speculation that Bolton want him on a permanent deal, but it would be surprising to see him make the switch as he is one of the Blues’ best youthful prospects, right behind 17-year-old Josh McEachran of course.
However, whilst Torres, Drogba, Anelka and Malouda all battle for a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s XI, Sturridge has slipped in nicely with the other Bolton strikers Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies. Some suggest that the kid was merely in the right place at the right time, but I disagree as he has produced his best form of the season so far at Bolton.
Sturridge does not need to do anything else at the moment apart from stay out of the drama and let his feet do the talking on the pitch. There was no way in hell that he would push into the starting line-up at Chelsea at 21-years-of-age, but there is a good chance that, should he prove his worth at Bolton and has a good season next year, he could push one of the aging strikers out at Chelsea by the summer of 2012.
So keep up the good work Daniel, because scoring is exactly what gives any striker in the world his starting position.
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