Fernando Torres returns to Liverpool to shadow Jurgen Klopp in training… as Trent Alexander-Arnold jokes that the former Reds striker is still a ‘better’ finisher than Mo Salah!

Fernando Torres has returned to Liverpool to shadow Jurgen Klopp for the day while the team were in training ahead of their game against Brighton on Sunday.

Torres, who was a Liverpool player from 2007 until 2011, is currently managing the Under 19s at Atletico Madrid, was at the Reds’ training ground on Friday to meet players like Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and shadow Klopp.

The 40-year-old was invited to oversee training ahead of Brighton, with the intention to give him first-hand management experience from Klopp and assistant manager Pep Lijnders before the German gaffer leaves the club at the end of the season.

Torres told the club’s X (formerly Twitter) page: ‘I’ve had the opportunity to see how everything works from the inside, which is great.

‘I’m a big fan of Jurgen and his staff and all around the AXA training facility, which is very different than when I was here. 

Torres also met with Mo Salah and other Liverpool players to learn more about management

‘So obviously the club grows a lot, and I have the chance to see why.

‘There are many reasons. It’s amazing to be here and to be able to meet with Jurgen and Pep and all the staff to learn and try to understand the Liverpool way.’ 

Footage from the dressing room showed Torres sharing a laugh with Salah, with the Egyptian joking ‘He’s fitter than you!’ in the direction of Alexander-Arnold. 

The England star shot back with his own retort by jovially telling Salah that Torres was ‘better’ than him at finishing.  

Torres was previously backed to become a successful manager in his own right.

In 2022, former Atletico Madrid coach Armando de la Morena told AS: ‘A coach like Fernando, knowing his career a bit, as a player and always with the respect that he has acted, has the conditions to be a great coach. 

Torres, the current manager of Atletico Madrid’s Under 19s, has been tipped for big things

The 40-year-old got first-hand experience from Klopp and assistant manager Pep Lijnders

Torres marked his return to Anfield with a goal in the Liverpool legends game against Ajax

‘I know it from the players too, who tell me wonders about him, how he transmits, how he gives them the concepts. So what I see in him is that if everything is going the right way, then we have a future coach for Spanish football and for Atletico and hopefully for the national team as well.

Last weekend, Torres joined some of Liverpool’s heroes of yesteryear for the Legends game against Ajax, in which he scored the Reds’ final goal in a 4-2 victory after a second half comeback against the Dutch side. 

Torres earned a legendary reputation among Liverpool supporters for his efficiency in front of goal after joining in 2007, netting 81 times in all competitions for the Reds.

However, the Spaniard’s controversial move to Chelsea four years later caused issues with some fans, after he was quoted saying he had finally joined one of the world’s ‘top clubs’ upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge.