Lazio want Mario Balotelli loan deal
By Italy correspondent Gianluigi Carrozzini
Lazio have targeted a Mario Balotelli loan deal as they step up plans to end the striker's Liverpool nightmare,
Football Insider
sources understand.
The Premier League club's £15million valuation of the Italy international has put off clubs in his homeland. But Lazio are keen on signing the Balotelli on a season-long loan from Anfield with an option for a permanent deal. Any Balotelli loan transfer would necessitate a fee of around £1.5million being paid to Liverpool. The Serie A club have targeted the Anfield outcast after Miroslav Klose sustained an injury in a Champions League qualifier against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night that is expected to rule him out for an extended period. Lazio chiefs have held discussions with Balotelli's high-profile agent Mino Raiola in recent days in a new attempt to persuade the striker to return to Italy.
, while there is interest in him from Premier League clubs Leicester and Watford. Liverpool have made it clear that there is no place for the 25-year-old in the first-team squad this season and he will be allowed to leave if the right offer arrives. The Merseysiders have given Raiola permission to negotiate a transfer for his client, who has been ordered to train separately to the senior squad at the club's Melwood headquarters.
As reported by Football Insider, the
. Balotelli had a disastrous season for Liverpool after signing from AC Milan in a £16million deal last summer. He has scored just four goals in 28 appearances, only one of which has been in the Premier League.