AC Milan Reportedly Slash Balotelli Asking Price
Yesterday, Liverpool were being linked with a sensational move for Borussia Dortmund striker Marco Reus, but today we’re back to basics — so to speak anyway — with the Reds rekindling their interest in AC Milan bad-boy Mario Balotelli after it emerged that the Serie A could let him go on the cheap.
The Anfield outfit were rumoured to be monitoring the 23-year olds situation closely with whispers that he could leave the San Siro this summer getting louder by the day. While his £30mil price tag may have deterred Reds boss Brendan Rodgers from seriously entertaining a move for the volatile attacker earlier in the summer, the combination of a windfall of cash from the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and a serious reduction in his asking price could very well see Balotelli return to England.
With his star waning in his native land, Italian newspaper Tuttosport are reporting that the Rossoneri are ready to entertain offers for the former Manchester City man and are willing to take a loss on the player by accepting bids in the region of £14mill to get him off the books and avoid losing any further money on the unpredictable striker.
By this point in time, everyone has seen Balotelli at both his best and his worst. Sulky one minute and sublime the next, the 23-year old has been a constant source of entertainment since breaking into the Inter Milan team under then boss Jose Mourinho. With 14-goals in 30 appearances in stingy Serie A last season, there’s little doubt that he can do the job, but both his attitude and aptitude remains suspect. That being said, Liverpool are no strangers to controversy, and at a cut rate, could very well stand to benefit from Milan’s loss.
14 mil for a world class striker allows us to spend more money in weaker areas of the team
His attitude worries me at times, however that said for £14m he could be worth a try because there is no doubting the guy has talent.
We can make up for the loss of Suarez’s 31-goals by conceding 31 less goals. Mario might be good for 10 – 15 per season, I just worry about what kind of shenanigans he’s going to pull if he comes here.
Might be worth a punt, but honestly I think the money might be able to be better spent. If we can get Bony for cheaper than his £19mil buy-out clause, I’d rather him.
My worry for bony is whether he can handle the pressure of replacing suarez especially when he’d be coming from a team like swansea (no disrespects to swansea)
Really – you would rather have Bony than Balotelli? Is it April 1st today?
Some good points, I’ll be surprised if we get Bony for less than his clause and I agree, a lot has been made of Suarez’s 31 goals, but it would be realistic to think a replacement may get 10 – 15 goals, and some of the new players look like they have goals in them.
If our defence improves by 10 – 15 goals which we would hope it could then things are looking pretty good.
I think we need to realise that any new players will not replace Suarez as he was in the top 3 players in the World, what the new players need to do is give us more variety, as the top teams in the Prem all stopped Suarez from scoring.
Very good point, Id have to agree.mario would fit in fast as in his own head he’s a star and probably bigger than Suarez, would not be daunted at all. I reckon if they can get him to behave and apply himself, he could be a good signing
Bony scored 16 for Swansea last year in his first season in the EPL without courting any controversy (that I know of) or throwing a hissy fit (again, that I know of).
Mario has got talent — there’s no denying that — but the baggage that comes along with it is a bit much.
Don’t think Bony would be a Suarez replacement per se. He’d be a striker that comes in in the wake of of him leaving, but certainly not a like for like replacement. We’d be hard pressed to find another player like Suarez — I’d expect more of a tactical reshuffle from Rodgers rather than him trying to fit someone into the Suarez role.
Unless we got ahold of Messi or Ronaldo, we’re not replacing Suarez outright. Unfortunately, that’s just not possible…
If we can get him to behave and apply himself is a MASSIVE if…
We’ll see what happens.