Mario Balotelli on the brink of Manchester City move
Inter Milan forward Mario Balotelli is close to joining the swelling ranks at Manchester City, but a deal for the 19-year-old hasn’t yet been completed.
Reports from Italy this morning claimed that the controversial Italian under-21 international had already signed for the Eastlands outfit, and while his agent has moved to state that such statements are – at the moment – wide of the mark, a £24million transfer looks close.
“Nothing has been signed between Balotelli and Manchester City,” said Mino Raiola, “and I doubt anything will be in the next few days.”
The widespread belief is that a deal will be done though, and after Balotelli’s friends held a ‘leaving party’ for him in a Milan restaurant on Saturday night, a switch to the Premier League is expected before the start of the season.
The Italian report claimed that Balotelli – who played under City boss Roberto Mancini at Inter – could expect to earn around £65,000 a week at Eastlands, with current Inter boss Rafael Benitez ready to allow the switch in order to fund a move for Javier Mascherano, the Argentina captain who played under the Spaniard at Liverpool.
Balotelli has often courted controversy in Italy, and once appeared on an Italian chat show sporting an AC Milan shirt. His frequent bust ups with José Mourinho last season has seen his stock fall dramatically amongst the Inter hierarchy, and despite the arrival of Benitez, they are willing to allow him to leave.
Mancini is confident that he is the man to tame him though.
“He [Balotelli] is one of the four or five strikers that interest us,” he said. “I was the first to believe in him and I'm convinced about what he can do. Mario has two qualities that suit us, his talent and his age, because I want people able to build a cycle at Manchester City.”
In an added twist, Balotelli is set to fly out to America with Inter later this week, where the Italians face City in a friendly on Saturday.
The Eastlands club’s lust for recruitment shows no signs of abating, and as well as Balotelli they continue to be linked with moves for Fernando Torres and James Milner, despite both players’ clubs – Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively – stating that neither is for sale.
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