It seemed to be in the farthest of the far fetched rumours to begin with, but Premier League newcomers Watford FC have ruled out placing a bid for out of favour Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli on the back of a deluge of speculation in the press linking the Italian with a move to Vicarage Road.
After a disasterous first season at Anfield, the 25-year old has been more active on social media than he has on the football pitch since the season got under-way at the begining of August. Nowhere near the first team in either of the Reds first two matches and training on his own after being banished from the main group, Balotelli has attracted a lot of speculation in the media with a number of Serie A sides reportedly interested in his services with Liverpool ready to take a significant loss just to get shot of him, but no one — not even Hornet’s boss Quique Flores — has been tempted enough to make a move.
“We haven’t talked for any moment about Mario,” said the Spaniard ahead of his sides meeting with Southampton this weekend. “It’s more a possibility for the media than for the club,” he continued, distancing himself from the fractious striker before attempting to close the book on the matter, insisting that, “We have had no conversation.”
Italian sides Fiorentina and Bologna are known to have an interest in the 25-year old and Spanish side Sevilla have apparently also inquired about him, but the front-runners for his signature remain Serie A outfit Sampdoria with president Massimo Ferrero constantly blabbing away about bringing Balotelli to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Super-agent Mino Raiola has already ruled out his client moving to the Genoese club, but when Watford isn’t even interested in him, it may be high time to reconsider…
