Benitez’s Chelsea arrival may tempt Gerrard to the Bridge

Steven Gerrard has flirted with a move to Chelsea on more than once in his illustrious career and, now Rafa Benitez has been installed at Stamford Bridge, the link has resurfaced again.

The pair enjoyed a good relationship during the Spaniard’s tenure on Merseyside and a price of 10/1 says that Benitez will be the man to finally convince the Liverpool skipper to swap Anfield for the King’s Road after a couple of failed attempts from Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho almost got his man in the first instance when his advances prompted Gerrard to hand a transfer request in at Liverpool, but this was quickly revoked following en-mass supporter protests that convinced him to remain with his boyhood club.

Subsequent efforts were dismissed out of hand, but with the sun setting on his playing days and Liverpool a million miles away from winning the one trophy that’s eluded him – the Premier League – should Benitez dangle the carrot out one last time, perhaps he could be tempted to make the switch.

Chelsea are 5/1 shots to be crowned English champions come the end of the season and, with them four points off the pace after just 12 games, they’re well within with a shout. If Benitez can get off to a winning start against Man City, things will immediately look a lot rosier in west London.

Another factor in the decision to sign him would be the reuniting of the Gerrard and Fernando Torres double act. This combination definitely brought the best out of the Spanish striker, who has been a shadow of the player he was since Benitez departed Anfield.

With Roman Abramovich desperate to extract £50m worth of quality out of Torres, he surely wouldn’t take any umbrage with sanctioning a move for an ageing star who knows the Spaniard’s game inside out.

It does seem highly unlikely that, after all this time, Gerrard would turn his back on Liverpool. He once stated that winning the Premier League title with any club other than the Reds wouldn’t be as worthwhile so, even with all the ingredients in place for short-term success at Chelsea (aside from stability in the dugout) he surely won’t be swayed.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date