Milan have opened negotiations with Atlético Madrid as they seek to dispense with the services of Fernando Torres, who is currently on a two-year loan from Chelsea, and are hoping to secure Alessio Cerci in exchange.

Torres, a British record £50m signing when he moved to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool almost four years ago, departed for San Siro in the summer, effectively to see out the remainder of his Chelsea contract. Yet the World Cup and European Championships winner has scored only once in 10 Serie A appearances and has not played in the first-team since the draw against Internazionale on 23 November.

Milan had initially hoped to cancel the arrangement with Chelsea, but the London club are adamant the player is not returning to José Mourinho’s squad. “We have no space,” said the Portuguese when asked recently. “We have no space for players in our list, either in the Champions League or the Premier League.” With that confirmed, the Rossoneri are now exploring alternatives.

Milan’s coach, Filippo Inzaghi, is understood to have met with the chief executive Adriano Galliani after Saturday’s league draw with Roma – the Spain striker was an unused substitute in that fixture – to discuss transfer plans and determine how best to address the issue. They hope to offer the 30-year-old a temporary switch back to his former club, Atlético, in exchange for Cerci.

The Italy forward has struggled to settle at Atlético since moving from Torino last summer and having yet to make a league start, has managed a solitary goal in nine appearances in all competitions. It remains to be seen whether a deal can be struck, with Torres’ £150,000-a-week wage package a potential issue. Any deal would have to be sanctioned by Chelsea.

The Premier League club do not anticipate any first-team players coming in or leaving in mid-season, though they may consider permanent moves for some of the 25 players out on loan. Borussia Mönchengladbach are keen to secure Thorgan Hazard after the Belgian impressed on loan at the Bundesliga club while Mario Pasalic – who has spent the first half of the season on loan at Elche in Spain – could depart for Besiktas.