Besiktas manager Senol Gunes has firmly ruled out a move for want-away Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli.
Just last week a move looked imminent with the president of the Turkish club, Fikret Orman, quoted as saying, “Mario Balotelli is the type of footballer that our fans can associate themselves with. I'm pretty sure he would attract great attention. To be fair, if he wasn't deemed as a trouble-maker, he wouldn't be rumoured to be joining us. But we can show some effort and create solutions for Balotelli's infamous troubles. I think he can change with the attention and care he'll receive in Turkey. In short, we want Mario Balotelli and he wants us too."
Senol though has ruled out any possible move for the player, instead focussing his interests on capturing Samuel Eto’o, with a deal expected to be completed soon.
Gunes was particularly harsh in his assessment of the volatile Italian striker and told reporters, “Balotelli isn’t in my plans either, I don’t have a favourable view of Mario Balotelli. I have never expressed a positive insight on him.”
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Balotelli, once regarded as one of the best young strikers in world football is expected to leave the Reds this summer. The former Inter Milan striker was left out of all of Liverpool’s friendlies in the UK and their tour of the USA and has been told by Jurgen Klopp that he is free to leave the club.
Balotelli, though, did not seem too concerned with proceedings and could be seen holidaying in Camogli, Italy, while his teammates prepared for the new Premier League campaign.
The 25-year-old, who signed for Liverpool for £16 million from Italian giants AC Milan, has managed just 1 goal in 16 appearances for the club and was loaned out by the Reds to Milan for a season. His output in Italy was just as poor, with the striker managing just one Serie-A goal in 20 appearances.
A number of clubs including Ajax, Inter Milan and Sampdoria have shown interest in the Liverpool misfit but have baulked at the Reds’ asking price as well as the Italian’s hefty wage demands. Balotelli has just a year left on his contract and with just 1 month remaining in the transfer window, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are running out of time to offload the misfiring striker.
