Posted by Joseph Zucker

I know what I'm about to say might seem kind of extreme and Chelsea supporters everywhere will be up in arms, but here it goes: Fernando Torres has struggled a little bit since making the move to Stamford Bridge almost one year ago. That might be considered extreme hyperbole, but it's just my opinion. I really feel like I'm sticking my neck out with this one.

But seriously, ever since that World Cup Final, Fernando Torres has been a shell of himself. He went into the tournament not at 100 percent, and it showed. He wasn't totally ineffective. You could argue that David Villa was able to benefit from the attention that Torres drew from opposing defences. Coming on as a sub in the final, Torres tried to run down a long ball, but pulled up lame. It looked to be his hamstring as he crumpled to the grass.

He returned to Liverpool, but it was clear that he wasn't the same player that had set the league on fire in his first season at Anfield. Torres cut a sullen figure almost in almost every match, spare the win over Chelsea. More than likely he was still carrying an injury and resentment over not being moved in the summer. That move obviously came to fruition at the end of January, almost literally blazing a path to London as supporters were burning his Liverpool shirt.

The £50 million man was supposed to bring Chelsea the European success the club had failed to attain under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. Instead, the downhill slide has continued. What are supposed to be his peak years as a player are being spent in absolute mediocrity. He has scored only five times in 30 matches as a member of Chelsea. Compare that to the 81 goals he score for Liverpool in 143 matches. Every match, Fernando Torres becomes more and more a specter of his old self.

The parallels between Andriy Shevchenko and Torres are becoming more and more alarming. Shevchenko was supposed to be to Chelsea what Torres is following his move from AC Milan in 2006. As much of a flop as Sheva is considered, he scored 22 goals in his 77-match Chelsea career, almost double Torres' goal rate.

The longer he stays with Chelsea, it appears the worse things will get for him. It might seem crazy to say after only being with the club for about 10 months, but it's not as if Abramovich is the kind of man to wait for anything. Something needs to happen for Fernando Torres to regain any semblance of what he once was.

Call me crazy, but this just might work: a move back to his old club, Atlético Madrid. At this point, I don't really think things could get much worse for Torres. For those who don't know, Torres had a relationship with Atleti that Robbie Keane is able to share with every club he's played for: It was the club he had supported as a boy. You can find a video of a 12-year-old Torres playing for an Atleti youth team and scoring two goals against AC Milan. (I'd actually be willing to bet that 12-year-old Torres could outscore 27-year-old Torres.) There are few players in the world who share the same passion that Fernando Torres has for Atlético Madrid.

The feeling is reciprocal with the supporters. Even after his move to Liverpool, Atleti supporters still love Torres. They didn't see his transfer as a betrayal, but rather more of an upgrade where he could achieve things that were unattainable in Madrid. Right now, that undying love may be the one thing Fernando Torres needs the most. I don't believe he will ever have that from Chelsea supporters. He'll simply be looked upon as a hired gun who's only as good as the goals he scored. He had a strong amount of affection from supporters in Liverpool. Of course, there doesn't seem to be any road back to Liverpool.

Not only must he be the focal point in the stands, but the same goes on the pitch also. Liverpool supporters would always complain about the lack of a second striker to pair with Torres, but he was arguably at his best as more of a lone striker and Steven Gerrard would play just behind him. That, too, was never going to happen at Chelsea, not with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka already in the Starting XI. Now you can throw in Daniel Sturridge and possibly Romelu Lukaku in the mix as well.

As I have written about before, Atlético could really use another striker. Granted they brought in Radamel Falcao over the summer, they need someone to provide consistent goals. I know Adrián has come on strong recently, but even so, Atleti is really only looking at two capable strikers.

Lately, Falcao has really struggled and looked completely alone with no support. Sometimes, Manzano would be forced to play him as a lone striker, thus making Falcao have to come higher to receive the ball. He's not particularly effective when running at defenders from a position close to midfield. However, that is one thing I wouldn't say about Torres. He has a great ability to run right at an opposing back four. I know I made the argument about how Torres was so successful as a lone striker, but he has seen success with the Spanish national team when paired with David Villa.

After purchasing Falcao, there's simply no way I see Atlético being able to afford bringing in Torres on a full transfer, so a loan deal would be most appropriate. It could also be the deal that benefits almost everyone involved.

Chelsea is able to move Torres to a club where he would get consistent playing time, and upon his return, he could be a changed man. Atlético gets another player who could help get the club out of the doldrums and into a Champions League place. And Torres would move to the one club where he would feel most comfortable. In the words of Michael Scott, it's a win, win, win.

Although, with Atlético Madrid involved, there's always a chance that things could implode and Fernando Torres somehow literally loses his right foot in some freak accident.