Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata has stated his belief that countryman Fernando Torres will break his scoring duck soon, and have a successful season in 2011-12.
Torres has failed to impress since a £50 million move from Liverpool in January, and has only scored one goal for the Stamford Bridge club due to a loss of confidence.
Despite this, new signing Mata believes the striker has the ability to recapture his former glories.
“I believe Fernando is still the same player he was before – nothing has changed. He is a great player who has demonstrated he can score lot of goals,” the former Valencia midfielder told Mirror Football.
“Everybody goes through phases when it doesn’t happen for them and that is what Fernando is doing now. But this will be his season. It’s just a question of time.”
Mata continued by stating that Torres, and manager Andre Villas Boas, were important factors in his decision to move to England.
“Fernando was an important factor in my decision to come here. I spoke to him and he encouraged me to come. He said it would be excellent for me to come to a bigger team, with excellent players, an excellent manager and qualities overall.
“I know that other clubs were interested but in the end Chelsea made a formal offer for me. For me that was very important and I want to make the most of this opportunity and grow.
“They are one of the great sides in Europe and I wanted to come here. That is why I’m here. The manager and I spoke with each other during the negotiation process and that filled me with confidence in his ideas,” he concluded.
Mata and Torres will need to be at their best on Sunday, as Chelsea visit Old Trafford to take on Premier League champions Manchester United.
