Do Chelsea need to spend 70m on a single player?

I was reading this article on the fantastic ChelseaBlog and it got me thinking, 'Do we really need to spend somewhere in the region of 70m on a single player?". The rumours regarding the future of Fernando Torres seem to be getting stronger now and it looks as though if he does move it will be to Chelsea, but do we really need to be spending that amount of money to sign him.

It wasn't so long ago that I posted about Roman Abramovich and if he has changed his tune at Chelsea. In that article I reported that Abramovich was keen to not make the same mistakes as players he had brought into the club previously and their contracts. Figures such as 70m had been reported as lost through player wages for the likes of Veron, Crespo and Shevchenko.

Later in the article I looked at maybe this new stance from Abramovich had an influence in the new contracts that had been offered to the likes of Ballack, Anelka and Joe Cole.

So if this is the case then why would we look to sign someone like Torres for mega money because there will be no question that he would come to Chelsea as one of the top earners at the club?. I know that there is a need to replenish the squad with younger players and because of that the older players such as Ballack will be offered lesser deals, but do we have to look at Torres at that price or is there someone else the same age or similar that would be better value for Chelsea?.

Alot of people have mentioned and in recent times we have been linked with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and today Klaas Jan Huntelaar but would you say these players would be a gamble as they have no Premier League experience?.

You have to say that Torres has has been here and done it ever since he arrived. He is a natural goalscorer and with the experience of playing here behind him, puts him ahead of any potential signing from abroad purely for that reason.

At the moment in Didier Drogba and Nico Anelka at the club we have two proven performers in the Premier League, so why not bring in someone younger and cheaper than Torres from abroad?. The problem Abramovich and Ancelotti are faced with is if they spend 20-30m on a player and he turns out to be a flop (Sheva) because he either can't settle into the League or just can't get to grips with the pace of the game here.

Drogba himself has admitted time and time again that it took him a while to settle into England and playing in the Premier League and just this past week so too has Florent Malouda.

Another point to note in all this is the squad status of the player. If you are Drogba or Anelka then how could you realistically expect to be dropped to the bench for the start of the season for maybe Aguero or Ibrahimovic to take your place?. Added to that do you honestly believe that players of this calibre will want to come to Chelsea and settle for rotation for the season?. They may come out with some rubbish to begin with about being "happy to have joined Chelsea" and are "prepared to wait for their chance" so in that case why sign them in the first place if you will have to fork out 20-30m for them?.

What happens to the likes of Danny Sturridge, who is blessed with ability and natural pace who joined Chelsea to be part of our club, the squad and to make his mark on the first team. He has shown in glimpses this season he has quality and will be an outstanding forward for England. This is a young player who turned down the money-men at City to come to Chelsea for his chance and more than likely expects to be more involved this coming season and quite rightly so. Do you tell him he will have a similar role this coming season as we will be bringing in someone with no experience of Premier League football ahead of him in the pecking order?

Another player to look at is someone like Franco Di Santo. Again, another proven goalscorer in the youth team and reserves and is good enough for Blackburn Rovers to take in on loan for the season and now possibly Bolton looking to sign him, so why not give him a go. He has played in the Prem, has ability to which there is no question and is another option we have rather than spend money that we maybe just do not need to do.

There are two players in Sturridge and Di Santo who maybe should be given more involvement in the first team and given their chances more often in a Chelsea shirt. Surely the players they are in and around day in day out can have a positive influence on them and they can learn from the likes of Drogba and Anelka. For example, look at this past season, we have won games by scoring 7 or more goals four times this season. Sturridge came on and contributed with a goal on one of them. These are typical examples of games where one or the other can be given a go once we are 3-0 up to show what they can do leading the line in the place of Drogba and Anelka or am I being unrealistic?

There is one thing that remains for Chelsea and thats Champions League success. You can argue that we do need strength in depth within the squad as we look to compete on all fronts again next season but the focus will very much be on doing better in europe's top football competition next season. Would you rely on Di Santo or Sturridge to play a part in that competition as backup to Didier and Nico?. If you do then you run the risk of being forced to play them in the latter stages if one of the other two face an injury or a ban and this could be costly for the club. It could work out well and they could settle into European football like ducks to water but then again they could flop.

This is where the decision is being made in the offices of Stamford Bridge at the moment and the numerous factors involved in making that decision I have described above.

However the question remains, Do we spend 70m on Torres? If we do and we win the Champions League its money well spent. If we don't and we do not make progress in the competition what would it mean to Abramovich and Chelsea?.

Let's see what happens in the coming weeks.

CAREFREE & KTBFFH EVERYONE!