London, Sep 10 (IANS): Spanish striker Fernando Torres has slammed Chelsea's midfielders as being "old and slow".

The Spaniard, who made a 50-million-pound move to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in January, has hit just one goal apiece for the club as also his country since switching clubs.

"When I changed clubs, I knew it was going to be a slow process, although I didn't expect it to be so long. Chelsea is, between the English teams, maybe the least English. That's because of the kind of player Chelsea has - an older player, who plays very slow, who has a lot of possession - and that's what the club is trying to change now," Torres was quoted as saying by The Sun.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas signed Torres' mate Juan Mata from Valencia for 26 million pounds in an attempt to get the best out of the misfiring Torres.

"It's not easy to find midfielders because the best ones are already in the best teams. But the arrival of Mata is going to give another pace to the team. Daniel Sturridge, who has been ruled out for a while, is also an incredible player - maybe the one that has surprised me the most since I came here. In the next matches, you will see another pace and I hope the midfield will adapt to that pace. That is what you need in the Premier League. If not, then the teams do not work," he said.