BALOTELLI LINKED TO RETURN

The 22-year-old Mario Balotelli has been linked with a move from the Premier league champions Manchester City for quite a while now. The Italian manager Cesare Prandelli has said that the striker needs to stay focused in order to realise his full potential. Balotelli has been touted as one amongst the greatest prospects in world football, but he has failed to match his billing so far. Apart from a few performances in the last few years, Balotelli has been a major disappointment for the Premier league club Manchester city. They paid £ 24 million to secure his services from Inter Milan in 2010.

After managing to score just one Premier league goal all season, Balotelli has been linked with a move from the club in the January transfer window. AC Milan have emerged as a strong contender for his signature. The AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani recently revealed that City are requesting around £ 31 million in transfer fees in order to sell the player, while the Italian club are prepared to pay only around £ 21 million. Balotelli was recently pictured having a clash with the manager Roberto Mancini, although the Italian later said that it was a non-issue. Balotelli has rarely featured for the first-team this season.

“Balotelli has always behaved very well with us on international duty. He must always focus on proving his value on the field, without being a ‘superhero’ or Mario the ‘character’ off it, and we tacticians have to find the best way to get that talent out of him,” said the Italian manager Prandelli, who warned Balotelli that he would not be picked for the national team if he does not give his entire focus to the team. Balotelli was at his imperious best for the Italian national team at the Euro 2012.