According to reports in Football Italia, Italian club Napoli is interested in signing Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli to a six-month loan deal until the end of the season, Soccerlens.com said.
The reports claim that a return by Balotelli to Italy is possible amid his struggles since his £16 million summer move from AC Milan.
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Rome-based media outlet Il Messaggero claimed that Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola is trying to convince Liverpool to let the striker go to the Italian Serie A club during the January transfer window.
Napoli earlier declared its interest in the striker while Balotelli himself could be interested in the move because Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers revealed that he would have a very limited role during the second half of the campaign, FootballFanCast.com said.
The 24-year-old has only been on the scoresheet twice since his move to Liverpool, which finished second in the Premier League last season.
But how feasible is a loan of Balotelli to Napoli? According to Soccerlens.com, Rafa Benitez’s side needs more strikers. Besides Gonazlo Higuain, Napoli only has Duvan Zapata, a young Colombian who has taken advantage of his chances this season but is considered too inexperienced to lead the line on his own. A move for Balotelli thus makes sense but his poor reputation might lower the chances of a transfer, the website said.
Liverpool took a calculated gamble on Balotelli, one of the world’s best strikers, who is known as much for his controversies as his goals.
In 2013, Balotelli was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Born Mario Barwuah to immigrants from Ghana, Balotelli was raised by an Italian Jewish foster mother.
