Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted he has no plans to bid for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

The Blues, who lead the Premier League by five points, have already scored 27 league goals this season - five more than any of their rivals.

And Ancelotti said: "In this moment, we don't really need to have a striker, a fantastic striker, like Torres.

"We can be competitive in all competitions with this squad. The most important thing is to avoid injury."

Chelsea are one of several clubs to have been linked with a move for Torres, who has only scored twice for Liverpool this season as the Merseysiders have struggled for form.

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Reds' manager Roy Hodgson's admission that the club may have to fend off approaches for the Spain international when asked about the possibility of a Manchester United approach had fuelled speculation.

But Ancelotti, whose side also hit 103 Premier League goals last season, said he planned to promote from within when the time came to replace forwards Nicolas Anelka, 31 and Didier Drogba, 32.

"I always said that Torres is not our aim for the future because we have trust in a lot of young players," stated the Italian.

"We also have fantastic strikers in Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou and fantastic young players like Daniel Sturridge and Gael Kakuta."

Sturridge moved to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in July 2009 and scored five goals in 20 appearances last season.

Ancelotti foresees Kakuta (l) becoming a first-team regular

Frenchman Kakuta, 19, whose controversial move from Lens led to the Blues receiving a transfer ban that they later successfully appealed against, has appeared six times this season although he is yet to score or complete a full match for the club.

Chelsea have a long-stated aim of becoming self-sufficient and have scaled back their spending after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich initially funded a series of high-profile signings on taking control of the club in July 2003.

Chelsea's main acquisitions in the summer were midfielders Ramires and Yossi Benayoun, who cost about £17m and £5m from Benfica and Liverpool respectively.

Their arrivals helped balance the departures of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, who both left at the end of their contracts.

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