According to reports in The Mirror, Newcastle United are keen on signing out of favour Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres on a short-term loan deal during the January transfer window.

What's the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that Torres is keen on a final Premier League swansong after finding first-team minutes hard to come by with the La Liga giants this season.

The Mirror reports that the 33-year-old is keen to return to the English top flight for the second-half of the campaign with Diego Costa able to play from January onwards, with the centre-forward's representatives letting the Magpies and Southampton know of his potential availability on loan.

The report adds that the former Liverpool and Chelsea man is hoping that one of the two will be able to offer him a package that will allow him to return to England before he spends the last season of his contract with his hometown club, as they will need to take on part of his £2.2m annual salary.

How has Torres done this season?

The Spaniard has found game time hard to come by and despite making 10 appearances in all competitions – without finding the net – that has only included 332 minutes on the pitch and just 182 minutes in La Liga.

Why would Newcastle want him?

While the Magpies have made a decent start to the season, they have scored just 10 goals in their opening 11 Premier League matches this term and that is a record that they will need to improve if they want to stay out of trouble.

Summer addition Joselu has done well but has only netted twice, while Dwight Gayle has struggled to get into the starting XI and Aleksandar Mitrovic appears to be out of favour.

It is clear that Benitez needs to strengthen his attacking options and while his spell with Chelsea was disappointing, Torres has shown throughout his career that he can be a big goal threat.

Would he be a good signing?

It's difficult to say.

While he has shown world-class finishing ability in the past, the fact that he is 33 years of age means he may not be quite as sharp as he used to be.

However, signing him would still boost the squad and the St James' Park faithful and on a short-term loan there isn't really anything to lose.

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