Italy boss encourages Milan to grab Torres while they can

Former Juventus manager Antonio Conte is now heading up Italy's national team setup, but it appears that he's just as keen as ever to sabotage AC Milan's hopes of ever being good again. Look, he's even endorsing a Fernando Torres move!

I think Milan are going to make another signing still. Therefore, I'm going to hold back on judging them right now. Of course if Torres were to arrive, their prospects would change considerably. The Spanish forward is devastating when he's got space to run into and I think he would be perfect for the kind of football that Filippo Inzaghi wants to play.

Source: ESPN FC.

Cut from that quote, presumably, was the sentence immediately following, which I imagine went something like: "Ok, Jose, I did it; when's my €5,000 coming?" Torres is no more devastating when he runs into space than any other forward, and Milan's prospects were significantly better before they sold Mario Balotelli, who is a significantly better centre forward than Torres is.

So, assuming Mr. Conte is weaving an elaborate joke -- the sort Xavi used to pull when he claimed that Michael Carrick was the Premier League's best midfielder -- well done. And we owe you one.