Alan Shearer believes that Fernando Torres will have to abandon Chelsea in order to regain his former prolific form following a difficult year at Stamford Bridge.

The Spanish striker had the chance to end his goal drought by taking a penalty during the Blues' 2-0 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup last night, but teammate Juan Mata revealed that the 27-year-old was unwilling to step up.

"It's baffling," the Daily Star quotes Shearer as saying. "I'm pretty sure the ability is still there but his confidence is obviously at an all-time low. You have to help yourself in difficult situations.

"I hope he gets back to what he was but it might take a move away from Chelsea to do it. Sometimes you need to help yourself in those situations and he's not by not taking penalties. It baffles me. Why not? I was very, very surprised he didn't take it. I was amazed.

"You've got a penalty, you're 2-0 up and you haven't scored for 20-odd games. When you're on a barren run like that it's a golden opportunity to score a goal. I was really surprised. No-one's going to hand you the opportunity from a yard out, so I was shocked he didn't take it."

Torres has only netted five goals since joining Chelsea from Liverpool last January.