Palermo boss Davide Ballardini feels the Serie A outfit are the right club for Mario Balotelli and he is hopeful about signing the Liverpool flop.

The Italy international, who joined Liverpool from AC Milan in 2014, failed to make his mark at Anfield.




Balotelli managed just four goals in 28 appearances in all competitions for the Reds before being shipped off to AC Milan on a loan deal for the 2015/16 campaign.

The striker had a similar miserable spell at AC Milan last season, with the 23-year-old scoring just three times in 23 games.
 


Balotelli, who is deemed surplus to requirements by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, returned to the club in the summer, but is yet to make an appearance this term; he has been training with the reserves.

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As a result, the forward has been heavily linked with a move away from Liverpool before the closure of the summer transfer window, with Nice, Bordeaux, Bologna and Wolverhampton Wanderers all linked with making a move for the former Manchester City man.

Palermo are the latest entrants in the race for Balotelli, but Bellardini insists that while his salary could be a problem for the club, the manager is confident that the player’s will tilt the scales towards them.

However, Ballardini, who thinks Palermo is the best place for Balotelli to re-launch his career, is hopeful about bringing in the Italian striker.

“Yes, I would like to coach Balotelli”, Ballardini told Italian broadcaster Sky Italia.

“We are working to bring in Balotelli, let’s see what happens.

“We think Palermo is the right place for Balotelli to re-launch his career.

“He is a great champion and with the talent he has, he can return to the national team.

“It depends on his wages at the moment, but his will can tilt the balance towards us.

“We are awaiting his decision.”

Balotelli, whose present contract with Liverpool runs until 2018, has 33 caps and 13 goals for Italy to his name.