Chelsea striker Fernando Torres claims he wants to remain at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future. The Spain international refuted reports he is considering a transfer from west London.

The 29-year-old former Liverpool star's position at the club has come under threat following a series of below-par performances and the Mirror has linked him with moves to the Serie A, with Fiorentina and Napoli believed to be interested.

Fernando Torres
Reuters

"I signed a five-and-half-year contract, so hopefully I'll stay at Chelsea for at least five-and-half years. Maybe more, who knows," Torres told Goal.com.

At present, the Blues have only Torres and Senegalese international Demba Ba as senior strikers. The Europa League winners have been linked with a number of top-class goal scorers, including Napoli's Edinson Cavani. The Metro reported last week that the club were looking to conclude a £42.5m deal.

A number of other players, like Radamel Falcao of Atlético Madrid and Robert Lewandowski of Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund are also expected to announce summer moves. The Express reported earlier in May that the Polish international could emerge as a key target, in preference to the Colombian.

However, Torres remains unconcerned about the possibility of high-profile strikers arriving in the summer.

"It's Chelsea. Obviously, big players are linked with the club. It's normal, especially in this period of the year with the summer. The places and names of players that every year [are linked] - we'll see what happens," the striker explained.

The Spaniard appears to have regained his scoring touch this season... the same touch that saw Roman Abramovich pay the Reds £50m for his services. Torres has 23 goals and seven assists from 65 appearances in all competitions this season, including six from nine Europa League games.

Much of his revival is widely credited to Rafael Benitez. The former Valencia and Liverpool boss was appointed interim manager earlier this season and has coaxed the goals out of his former Anfield star.

"I think he came to do a job and he did. He must be happy because he won a trophy with Chelsea. He has helped the team, the team has been good. The players are better. He came in a difficult situation, personally, and the team were not doing well at the time," Torres explained.

"It takes a bit of time to do better but after that, at the end of the season, the team was much better than at the beginning," he concluded.

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