There haven't been many teams more active in the transfer market than Liverpool. The Reds sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona and signed Emre Can, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Lazar Marković, Dejan Lovren and Divock Origi for a combined £89,000,000. Despite this spending though, Liverpool still need to add depth upfront. Currently, the only strikers at Brendan Rodger's disposal are Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert. Rumours have broken today that Rodgers and Liverpool are going to solve this problem by bringing the flamboyant and enigmatic Mario Balotelli back to English Football in a deal worth just £14.3 million.
£14.3 million may not seem much considering the money that has been paid for players like Suarez however, since moving from Manchester City to AC Milan one and a half seasons ago, for £19 million, the Italian has endured a difficult time.
Last season Balotelli accused Catania defender Nicolas Spolli of racially abusing him on the pitch and AC Milan non-executive vice president Paolo Berlusconi was overheard referring to the Italian striker with a racial term. Added to this were AC Milan's and Balotelli's on the pitch struggles. Balotelli did manage to score 14 leagues goals last season but was seen to be under-performing in a Rossoneri side that completely failed to launch a Serie A title challenge as it slumped to an eight place finish.
Almost fifty points behind rivals and title winners Juventus.
There is no doubt that Balotelli is still a hugely talented player though and it seems that Brendan Rodgers is a fan. In his press conference ahead of Liverpool's International Champions Cup match Rodgers was effusive in his praise for Balotelli saying "Balotelli is a big talent.
I saw that in this time at Inter as a young player and obviously going to Manchester City when we had a real close eye on him there.
''He’s got all the qualities. He’s 6ft 3ins, he’s quick, his touch is terrific and he can score goals. He went back to Italy to play and he’s still so young.
''If his focus is right, his concentration is right and he leads the lifestyle of a top player then he can play for any team in the world.''
In truth, a move to Liverpool would seem to suit all sides.
Liverpool need another top quality striker, Balotelli doesn't seem happy at Milan and AC Milan want to use the funds the sale would raise to launch a bid for Torino attacking winger Alessio Cerci.
