The Newcastle star is out of contract at the end of the season and can leave the Magpies for free.
“I think it’s a different situation to the Robbie Fowler one. Robbie knew it was a fantastic opportunity for him to come back,” Benitez was quoted as saying in The Sunday Star.
“He had been injured and had not played games in a row. And we were looking for a striker of his quality. We were looking for this kind of player.
“He understood clearly what his role was. Michael is younger and still has a lot of years to play, so it is a different situation.
“Clearly he’s a top class striker so he will want to play every game. But as this moment we are really pleased with Fernando Torres.”
