Scout Scribbles – Torres Boost For Chelsea

Fernando Torres is back in training for Chelsea. Robbie Brady is determined to return to the form of early-season. Andros Townsend and Mousa Dembele are in the frame for Tottenham this weekend, Tony Pulis discusses his attacking intentions and Steven Fletcher could be set for surgery:

TORRES BACK IN TRAINING

Forced off with a knee injury in Chelsea’s victory over Manchester United last month, Fernando Torres was expected to be on the sidlelines for up to a month, but the Spaniard has now returned to training and could be available for Newcastle’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Scout Says: Torres’ return will be yet another title-race boost for Chelsea following their victory over Manchester City on Monday evening, although the 29-year-old has a tough task ahead of him in supplanting Samuel Eto’o as Jose Mourinho’s first choice striker. However, three goals in his last four starts, with six bonus points also accrued in that time, does highlight the impact Torres can have and, should he snatch up any chance offered to him by his manager, the 8.1-priced Spaniard could establish himself as Mourinho’s number one striker and be set to reap the benefits of the creativity of Eden Hazard and Willian playing in behind him.

PULIS HAS AN EYE FOR GOALS

Tony Pulis has spoken of his Crystal Palace side’s need for goals, and is looking to his new signings to provide the spark the club need. The Eagles’ boss highlighted the talents of loanee signing Tom Ince and former Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley as possible sources for the goals he’s yearning for:

“The business we have done in January was about finding goals from all areas of the pitch. We have Tom Ince, who can score goals from out wide, and Joe Ledley who has a great goal-scoring record from midfield.”

However, Pulis also acknowledged that the imminent return of striker Glen Murray will also help provide the Eagles with attacking threat:

“Glenn is nearly fit, and so we’re going to have goals coming in from all over the pitch. We need to keep our resilience and fighting spirit, but with these three, we will be more of a threat going forward.”

The Scout Says: Having seemingly been courted by every Premier League club going, there will be few who are unaware of the talents of Tom Ince. The former Liverpool youngster, coming into the game at a price of 5.5, looks set to vie with Yannick Bolasie for a place on the wing and, should he make the step up to the top division in the manner most expect, Ince – alongside fellow new recruit Ledley – may blink on to our radars in the coming weeks. Glen Murray’s long-awaited return since picking up an ankle injury last May might well also give managers something to chew over. The 5.2-priced forward’s goal scoring ability is undeniable and, should Pulis be true to his word and focus upon a more attacking style in the hunt to avoid relegation, both Murray and fellow frontman Marouane Chamakh could be worth consideration in the budget bracket.

BRADY EYES RETURN TO EARLY-SEASON FORM

Hull City’s Robbie Brady has undoubtedly experienced a year of ups and downs, notching three strikes between the start of the season and Gameweek 6, before falling rapidly out of favour due to an ongoing hernia problem. Having then picked up a groin injury at the start of December, Brady had to wait till last weekend’s draw with Tottenham to make his return, but the young winger is feeling optimistic over his chances of having  an impact on his side’s prospects over the remainder of the season:

“I felt as though I had an okay start to the season and now I just want to get back and keep on playing. The groin feels a lot better than it did, although it is still ‘at me’ a little bit but that will go away as the weeks go by. It’s felt like problem after problem in the last few months…but hopefully it’s all sorted now. Hopefully I can get a few more goals now because it feels like ages since I last scored. But to be honest, I don’t mind who is scoring as long as we’re getting goals.”

The Scout Says: A firm budget favourite at the start of the season, Brady’s return from injury could be set to hand managers the chance to reap the benefits of his price-tag yet again for the latter stages of the campaign. Now down to just 4.7, the fact that he was immediately handed a start last weekend bodes well for the former Manchester United youngster, although his comments surrounding his groin might well put prospective owners off investing immediately. Nonetheless, the likelihood that he will still be on penalty duties along with a good run of fixtures in the next five (sun, SOU, car, NEW, whm) means Brady undeniably has the platform to reignite his, and his side’s, season.

TOWNSEND AND DEMBELE ON COURSE FOR COMEBACK

Tim Sherwood has revealed that Andros Townsend may feature for his side for the first time since mid-December, with Moussa Dembele also set to return from injury this Saturday against Everton:

“We’re positive on Andros and he has a chance (for Everton), he’s up for selection. (Dembele’s) fine. He’s back out training again and he’s in the frame to start against Everton.”

The Scout Says: Managers will be on alert as a return to full fitness and form for Townsend could provide us with yet another budget midfield option from here on in. Truth be told, the young winger failed to turn his stats into Fantasy returns for the first part of the season but, should he be able to overturn this trend, may well bag himself some Fantasy suitors over the remainder of the campaign as well as a seat on the plane to Brazil this summer. Meanwhile, whilst Dembele is hardly top of anyone’s Watchlist right now, his return to the double-pivot will provide cover for Spur’s backline, strengthening the appeal of the north London side’s defensive assets ahead of a decent short-term fixture list (EVE, new, nor, CAR).

POYET FEARS FOR FLETCHER

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet finds himself amid a dilemma as he must choose whether to allow Steven Fletcher to undergo surgery and see him miss out for the rest of the season, or delay surgery and keep the Scot available for the remainder of their relegation scrap. Having discovered that the striker’s ongoing Achilles injury is worse than first feared, Poyet now faces a tough decision over whether to continue to risk Fletcher as the weeks go by:

“It’s affecting him more than I thought. I’m a bit worried about it. We’re analysing it with the medical staff. But we’re going to have to make a decision one way or the other. We’ll have to look at the games ahead and the chance of rest in between, but we’ll need to make a strong decision.”

The Scout Says: News of Fletcher’s injury problems won’t have too much impact on the Fantasy landscape, with the Scot owned by just 0.1% of managers in the Fantasy Premier League. Additionally, should Poyet choose not to let him undergo surgery, Fletcher will presumably be used primarily as a substitute, thus diminishing his Fantasy prospects even further. On the other hand, the likes of Jozy Altidore and Fabio Borini look set to benefit from the Scot’s situation, as both would appear to be nailed on in his absence. Borini, available for just 6.2, has delivered three goals and two assists in his last three games and may just present himself as a canny option going into the latter part of the season.