Samuel Eto'o urges Mario Balotelli to sort his head out; Rossi eager to replace him at Inter Milan
Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has said that his teammate Mario Balotelli has immense potential, but he needs to clear his head to make his talent count.
Balotelli has long been sidelined at Inter Milan; he was not part of former manager Jose Mourinho’s plans in the historic treble winning season. The striker did not help his cause by openly admitting his admiration for the city rivals AC Milan. Balotelli is believed to be one of the most talented Italian strikers out there, but has not yet delivered at the highest level.
Manchester City are believed to be lining up a bid worth 25 million pounds to bring the troublesome front man to Eastlands. Inter Milan are also willing to offload the striker following a number of problems with the manager and some teammates.
His teammate at Inter Milan, Samuel Eto’o, has said that he knows Balotelli is a very talented player, and can make the first team of any big club or even Italy. However, he needs to work on his temperament and mental calmness to make it in the game.
Eto’o said that the senior players at Inter have always tried to talk some sense into him, but to what extent that worked no one knows. He added that Balotelli is at an age when he can either make or break his career, and if he gets his mind right, he can still prove to be one the best strikers to come out of Italy.
Talking about young Italian strikers, the only player in Italy’s World Cup squad that does not play in Serie A, Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi has made it clear that he wants to play for Inter Milan. Rossi has long been an AC Milan fan, but said he is willing to put that aside and join Inter. Rossi has been linked with Inter as a replacement for the hot headed Balotelli; the club is waiting for Balotelli to complete his move and then they would consider Rossi.
Rossi, who was born in United States, is currently playing in Spain for La Liga’s Villarreal. When asked if he was interested in a move to Inter, he happily responded in the affirmative. He added that although he has been an AC Milan supporter as a child, he would not make the same mistake as Balotelli did and openly shout it out to get the Inter fans on his bad side. He added that he has heard from others that Inter Milan is interested in him; he said, however, that no official approach has yet been made by the Italian champions. He said that if an offer actually comes, he would seriously consider it. Rossi said that Inter is a club with a rich history and culture and in Italy that is the club on its way up. The former Manchester United striker said that he would have loved to be part of history when Inter won the treble last season, and despite Mourinho leaving the club, he said that the club is heading in the right direction.
The Italian striker said that when he was at Manchester United, he learned how a big club works and thinks. He added that even though he did not get too much first team action at old Trafford, he did learn what it is to win trophies.
Rossi went on to say that he has had an amazing time at Villarreal, and is still very happy there, but if he gets a chance to take the next step, he would be happy to make that move. The front man ended by saying that this is the right time in his career to make the step up and he is eager to do so.
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