Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini has revealed he was interested in a reunion with Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli before he completed a loan move to AC Milan, opening the door for a possible permanent transfer at the end of the 2015-16 season.

As he told La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Daily Star‘s Chisanga Malata), the former Manchester City manager still believes in Super Mario:

Yes, I admit it is true. Seriously, I thought about it at some point when we believed we might need a replacement for [Mauro] Icardi. I thought about it because I know him, I love him and I know what he can give.

I thought about it because he has to go back to being what he was. I thought about it, but that came before AC Milan signing him. I want to think forward to the next European Championships, because I see no better striker in Italy.

Balotelli moved back to Milan on loan after just one disappointing season at Anfield, where he scored just a single Premier League goal, per WhoScored.com. With his value at an all-time low, it seemed almost impossible for manager Brendan Rodgers to find a team willing to pay a significant fee for the Italian, leading to the loan deal with Milan.

While he was almost continuously mocked during his brief time with Liverpool, there are plenty of fans who believe perhaps the Italian wasn’t at fault, and instead, he was a victim of Rodgers’ tactics. The Anfield Chat is among them:

Balotelli scored on his Milan debut, but that was just a friendly against a lower-league side. We’ll learn soon enough whether he can turn his career around now that he’s back in Italy, but if he does, things could get interesting heading into next summer.

A move back to Anfield seems highly unlikely for the 25-year-old, even if he enjoys a good season and Rodgers―hypothetically―is shown the door. The club no longer wants him, and he likely doesn’t cherish his memories of the past year, either.

But if he manages to score a fair number of goals in the Serie A and prove he’s still a solid striker, there may be a market for his services again next year. Inter spent heavily during the summer, bringing the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia into the fold, but the Nerazzurri should once again have money to spend next season.

Mancini and Balotelli had their differences in the past, as noted by the Daily Mail‘s Ian Ladyman, so one has to wonder why Mancini would wish to go through all of that trouble again, but that shouldn’t be Liverpool’s worry. If the Nerazzurri want to take Super Mario off their hands next summer, it’s one move you have to assume the Anfield club would pull the trigger on in a hurry.

 

Lucas Leiva-Jeremy Menez Swap?

One move that seems unlikely to happen is a swap with Milan that would see Lucas Leiva move to the San Siro and Jeremy Menez make his way to the Premier League, per Calciomercatoweb (h/t Metro‘s Louis Sealey).

The 28-year-old Leiva remains mostly a depth player under Rodgers, who prefers to play the Brazilian off the bench, and while he usually impresses when given the opportunity to start, it doesn’t appear his role at Anfield will change anytime soon.

Menez is stuck in a somewhat similar situation, as his playing time is set to drastically decrease following the arrivals of Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano.

Last year, the 28-year-old scored 16 goals in 31 Serie A starts, per WhoScored.com, but he was unable to fire Milan back into the Champions League and seems surplus to requirements heading into the 2015-16 campaign.

The difference between the two is that Leiva is a proven Premier League contributor and somewhat of a fan-favourite, whereas Menez has shown far too little since his move to Italy from Paris Saint-Germain to warrant the belief he could ever challenge for a starting position at Anfield.

The Reds brought Christian Benteke and Danny Ings to the club in the summer, and while they could use another veteran contributor like Menez, he’s not enough of a priority to warrant the loss of Leiva. If Liverpool want Menez, they can just buy him outright, without losing the services of their versatile midfielder.

 

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