Fernando Torres profile
A hugely-gifted striker who has drawn comparisons with Marco van Basten, Torres is capable of scoring all types of goals.
"Torres is a forward with impressive speed. He has to play up front for us because he can destroy teams with his speed and ability to invent."
Luis Aragones.
Adept with both feet, strong in the air and with a lightning turn of pace it is hard to believe he has only just turned 22.
His superb form for Atletico - for whom he is already captain - has put most of Europe's biggest clubs on his trail and Chelsea, Milan, Arsenal and Manchester United have all made enquiries for him.
Unsurprisingly, Los Rojiblancos are desperate to retain his services, and Torres - himself a lifelong Atletico fan - is under contract at the club until June 2008.
A product of the youth system at the Vicente Calderon, the impressive youngster has a superb record for Spain in the junior categories and scored winning goals in the finals of the Under-16 and Under-19 European Championships in 2001 and 2002 respectively.
He made his full international bow in a friendly against Portugal in June 2003, and bagged his first international goal in a 1-1 friendly draw with Italy in April 2004.
He has since gone on to establish himself as his country's premier strikers and is already into double figures for international goals at a strike rate better than one in three, including seven in Spain's World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign.
Despite his relatively tender years, Torres already has an experienced head on his young shoulders and undoubtedly has the ability to truly announce himself on the international stage this summer.
