With the deadly duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge setting the league alight, opportunities in the Liverpool first team would be severely limited for the 22-year old making the loan the best move for everyone – and Borini showed that on Sunday when he scored the winner in a hotly contested Tyne-Wear derby to give new Black Cats manager Gus Poyet his first win and the Italian his first goal for his new side. Emotional match-winners aside, the striker still sees his future on Merseyside.
Following the youngsters loan switch, his agent Marco De Marchi claimed that it may have been better for his career had he stayed in Italy. “I think Fabio would have been the ideal player for Zdenek Zeman last year at Roma,” he told Radio Mana Mana, but it seems there’s a difference of opinion between the two of them as the striker sees himself back on Merseyside in the future. “I’m on loan because there wasn’t space for me and after a year of injuries I needed to get my confidence back, to play some games” said Borini, who continued, “But my roots are still there.”
With Liverpool new boy Iago Aspas facing similar difficulties following his switch form Celta Vigo this summer, the Italian striker may yet have a future in Brendan Rodgers side – and seeing him back on the score sheet will delight not only the Sunderland faithful, but those at Liverpool who have been watching his career closely. “It was definitely important, not so much just for me but for the whole team,” said the Italian. “It came at a difficult time and to get out of that slump is very important. It feels fantastic.” With the Reds pushing hard for Champions League qualification, more slots in the squad could mean a recall for Borini next season as long as he continues to impress under Poyet.
