Italy head coach Giampiero Ventura is keen to see Mario Balotelli show more consistency and play regularly before picking him for the national team.
After two poor seasons at Liverpool and AC Milan, Balotelli joined Nice this summer on a free transfer and has made a brilliant start to life in France with his new club.
Scoring six goals in five games, the mercurial Italian is again showing flashes of the talent that made him a sought-after forward a few years ago, but it was still not enough to find a place in the Italy squad for their upcoming internationals.
The 26-year-old was persona non grata during Antonio Conte’s reign as Italy manager, but Ventura has insisted that he is not going to shut the door on anyone in his team.
He admits that there is no doubt about Balotelli’s quality, but stressed that he wants to see a little more consistency from the forward before he can call him back to the Azzurri.
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Ventura was quoted as saying by L’Equipe: “I said during my early days as a coach I never close the door for anyone.
“Balotelli has again started playing and especially as the main striker, but he still needs to be consistent and play regularly.
“There are no discussions about his technical qualities.”
Balotelli has scored 13 international goals, but the last of his 33 Italy caps came in the World Cup in 2014.
