Fernando Torres is poised to re-join boyhood club Atletico Madrid after they outlined a deal with AC Milan that should see Alessio Cerci go in the opposite direction.
Torres is on a two-year loan from Chelsea but has failed to impress and Atletico are convinced they can rekindle the player of old should he return to Spain, reports dailymail.co.uk.
They will take over Milan's loan arrangement with Chelsea and take Torres for 18 months.
The 27-year-old Cerci, who joined Atletico for £13m in the summer from Torino, will go to Milan. It has been reported last week that the deal had been discussed but there has been interest from other Italian clubs in Cerci notably from Inter Milan.
He is yet to agree to the move despite it being agreed between the clubs while the 30-year-old Torres is on holiday in the Maldives but has already given the proposal his blessing.
Inter are pursuing deals for Arsenal's Lukas Podolski and Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj should they miss out to their city neighbours on Cerci.
Milan have formally announced that talks are 'advanced' to exchange Cerci with Torres.
Milan Channel - the official television station of the club - announced on Christmas Eve that negotiations with Atletico for the deal are "at an advanced stage".
