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Liverpool turn down Chelsea bid for Torres

Liverpool have rejected a bid for their Spain striker Fernando Torres from Premier League rivals Chelsea, British newspapers reported on Friday.

“Chelsea have made a bid for Fernando which has been turned down,” a Liverpool spokesman was quoted as saying in The Times. “The player is not for sale.”

The reports said Chelsea, who have slipped to the fringes of the title race after a poor run, had offered a British record fee of up to 40 million pounds ($63.62 million) for Torres.

Torres, who won the World Cup with Spain last year, joined Liverpool for a club record fee of about 20 million pounds in July 2007 from Atletico Madrid where he was idolised.

The 26-year-old has struggled to find top form this season, scoring nine league goals in 22 appearances as Liverpool have laboured after a poor start under former manager Roy Hodgson.

However, Torres has looked sharper since Kenny Dalglish took over the managerial reins at Anfield and has helped them up to seventh in the standings after back-to-back wins.