The answer to whether Liverpool made a mistake in signing Mario Balotelli is an unequivocal yes.

Balotelli joined in a deal worth £16 million last summer, moving from Serie A side AC Milan after previous spells with Inter Milan and Manchester City. His arrival received a mixed reaction, but for a relatively low price, the signing of an Italy international with Premier League and European pedigree seemed too good to turn down.

On Balotelli’s unveiling, manager Brendan Rodgers described him as a “calculated risk,” according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian.

“I think to get someone of that quality in this market is a very good deal for us,” Rodgers outlined. “He is a world-class talent and it is an area we need to strengthen.

“It is a calculated risk but one where we believe we can help him as a player and to mature as a young man.“

This gamble has not paid off for Rodgers or the club, with Balotelli now exiled from the first team as they look to offload him. Signing Balotelli turned out to be a mistake for a multitude of reasons.

On the Field

Naturally, the first port of call when considering Liverpool’s error is the striker’s 2014/15 form.

Brought into the side toward the end of August and making his debut against Tottenham Hotspur, Balotelli initially impressed; his performance in the 3-0 win at White Hart Lane suggested the Reds had acquired a maverick striker—evidenced by his attempt at lobbing Hugo Lloris from long range—who would become a valuable goalscorer when given time to adapt.

His relationship with Daniel Sturridge at the top of Rodgers’ 4-4-2 diamond formation hinted at a devastating partnership to come.

Balotelli continued to show promise in the following weeks, but this became an all-too-fleeting occurrence. Despite injury to Sturridge, Balotelli remained on the margins at Anfield, with sporadic appearances from the bench hampering any progress on the field. He scored two goals in his first three months, going on to wait another four months before finding the back of the net again—incidentally, that February strike was his first in the Premier League.

That goal, in a 3-2 win over Spurs, kick-started a brief renaissance for the Italian, during which he sparked a 2-1 FA Cup win over Crystal Palace and converted the winning penalty in Liverpool’s Europa League round-of-32 first-leg triumph over Besiktas.

Unfortunately, this was not enough to earn Balotelli a regular starting role under Rodgers, and his season petered out as Liverpool finished sixth in the Premier League, again failing to add silverware to their trophy cabinet. In 28 games for Liverpool in 2014/15, Balotelli only scored four goals. He completed the full 90 minutes just four times.

But whether this was entirely due to poor performances is questionable, as Rodgers outlined in conversation with Sky Sports in December:

I think we’ve seen [defending from the front is] not really his game. Working with Mario, we see someone who is better around the box. That level of intensity and pressing isn’t part of his game but you try and get the best out of the players you have and the qualities that you have.

So that’s something that we will focus on, but the most important thing is that he’s available after his ban. It adds another player to our squad and another player who is available, especially with Fabio Borini unavailable.

Throughout the season it became clear Balotelli could not function in the single-striker system Rodgers was looking to implement. This system required Rodgers’ centre-forward to not only spearhead attacks but also contribute to Liverpool’s pressing game off the ball and build attacks by dropping deep—it is a very challenging role that will see new signing Christian Benteke take time to adapt in 2015/16.

Balotelli was at his best alongside Sturridge on his Reds debut, never eclipsing that zenith. This raises the question, did Liverpool and Rodgers not know the type of player they were signing? Surely his time with City in the Premier League—largely alongside Sergio Aguero in a 4-4-2 formation—should have been enough evidence of how to best utilise the striker.

Off the Field

If the club had taken further observations from Balotelli’s time with the Citizens, they would have noted his questionable attitude on the training ground and out of football.

“The Northern Irishman was committed to making it work,” James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo detailed recently on the relationship between Rodgers as manager and Balotelli as player. “But all the promises Balotelli made him in his Melwood office prior to signing about knuckling down and committing to the team ethic were quickly broken.

“Balotelli wasn’t interested in learning and adapting his style. A succession of pitiful excuses meant he regularly missed training. Rodgers’ patience with him had snapped long before May.”

Pearce’s revelation that Balotelli failed to attend training sessions is at least removed from the striker’s physical training-ground clashes with Roberto Mancini and Micah Richards during his time with City, but it outlines a clear lack of application from the striker. This is a notion that was recently furthered by Simon Hughes for the Independent:

Two stories reflect Balotelli’s listless attitude. During training Colin Pascoe, then Liverpool’s assistant manager, gathered the squad in a huddle close to Melwood’s perimeter wall. Thirty or 40 yards away, Jon Flanagan was hobbling by, an injured player facing almost a year on the sidelines. Balotelli started shouting towards him for no apparent reason, ‘Hey, hey…’ interrupting Pascoe’s flow. For that, the Italian was threatened with banishment to the changing rooms.

Later in the afternoon, Balotelli scored a jaw-dropping goal from near the halfway line. Witnesses stood open-mouthed: first-team players shook their heads in disbelief, youngsters smirked nervously at the brilliance in front of them. One problem: the goal was at the wrong end.

Hughes’ initial anecdote, paired with those head-to-heads with his former manager and his senior team-mate at City, highlights a disruptive tendency in Balotelli, while his second suggests an unavoidable arrogance. Again, this is not new territory: Paul Handler of the Manchester Evening News provided an overview of Balotelli’s City transgressions in 2014, including throwing darts at a youth-team player, breaking pre-match curfew for a late-night curry and the infamous “Why always me?” t-shirt.

During his time with Liverpool, as Hughes continued, Balotelli failed to integrate into the first-team squad—not knowing the names of some key members of the Reds’ starting lineup—and regularly invited friend and former Fujieda MYFC defender Desmond N’Ze to training sessions before N’Ze was banned from entering Melwood, with his presence another disruption Rodgers was forced to deal with.

The training-ground own goal echoes the pre-season pirouette and backheel effort Balotelli attempted during City’s clash with LA Galaxy in 2011. Mancini immediately substituted the striker in what served as both a public humiliation and a signal of contempt.

Then-City midfielder James Milner, who replaced Balotelli, told Sky Sports (h/t the Mail) after the game:

Obviously I would like him to put that into the back of the net, but Mario is Mario, he does some strange things sometimes. I think he’s shown since he’s been here he has obviously got great potential, but he’s still young and still learning and hopefully he will get better and maybe learn from these sort of experiences.

If Milner had joined Liverpool a year ago rather than this summer, he could have warned Rodgers as to the destructive nature of Balotelli—a player who has seemingly not learned from his experiences—but with all of these hallmarks of disruption clear from his time in the Premier League with City, Liverpool’s decision to sanction his signing remains an interesting case.

Why Sign Mario Balotelli?

“I can categorically tell you Mario Balotelli will not be at Liverpool,” Rodgers told the Press Association (h/t the Guardian) at the beginning of August 2014.

Three weeks later, Balotelli was a Liverpool player. Whether this categorical denial was a well-worn smokescreen technique from Rodgers is impossible to tell, but Pearce’s detailing of the situation is telling: “Rodgers may not have wanted him initially but he gave the deal the green light when deadline day was looming and he was faced with a straight choice between Balotelli and Samuel Eto’o.”

The £16 million Liverpool spent on Balotelli, nine years Eto’o’s junior, represented less of a risk than the high-wage free transfer that would have brought the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker to Anfield—this was arguably a wise move, given Eto’o’s miserable, short spells with Everton and then Sampdoria last season.

But the signing of Balotelli—a categorical failure—is made more dispiriting given, as Chris Wheeler of the Mail reported in December, the club pulled out of a £20 million, £100,000-a-week deal to sign Wilfried Bony from Swansea City earlier in the summer.

“Having declined an opportunity to sign the Ivorian when he was given a two-week trial at Melwood in 2007 by Rafael Benitez, Liverpool once again decided to look elsewhere,” Wheeler wrote, continuing:

What subsequently made little sense, however, was that they agreed to similar terms to sign Balotelli—a problem player who had left Manchester City 18 months earlier more famous for the fireworks in his own bathroom than anything he was producing on the pitch.

Bony is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, arguably of a higher calibre than Balotelli’s replacement, Benteke. Balotelli proved only slightly less expensive than the Ivory Coast international, who subsequently joined City—ostensibly replacing Balotelli, albeit 24 months later.

So why did Liverpool opt for the less dependable option?

Perhaps signing Balotelli was something of a vanity project for Rodgers; coaxing consistent quality out of a player of undeniable talent but questionable mentality would likely have appealed to the paternal side of Rodgers. The manager said at the time of his signing, as reported by Hunter: “We believe we can help him as a player and to mature as a young man.”

The perennially renewed optimism of Liverpool supporters certainly backed this notion, with the remarkable talent of the now-25-year-old a symbol of hope for the Anfield faithful, who hoped Rodgers could be the man to mould Balotelli into a world-class centre-forward.

Perhaps, however, Balotelli was a mere last resort. But given his ill-fitting within Rodgers’ Liverpool system and his perceived disruptive character—unreformed from his time with City—this was a gamble too far for the Reds.

Statistics via Transfermarkt.

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Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao meet for the first of three fixtures against each other in nine days.

The last time that the Catalans played at this venue they strolled away with a 5-2 victory and a performance as commanding as any other during the campaign.

Another big win for Luis Enrique’s men here will place them in a good position to take the Spanish Super Cup trophy after the second leg at Camp Nou on Monday.

They’ll have to defend a whole lot better than they did in the second period against Sevilla in the European Super Cup if they want to claim their fifth trophy of a possible unprecedented second sextuple.

Recent games between the sides suggest that the odds are heavily stacked in favour of the visitors. Per Fussball Wettpoint, the Basques have won just once in the last 25 stretching back to 2006.

Date: Friday, August 14

Time: 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Venue: New San Mames, Bilbao, Spain

TV Info: Sky Sports 5/Sky Sports 5 HD (UK only)/ESPNdeportes (USA only)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)

Form Lines

Predicted Formations 

It’s hard to imagine that Ernesto Valverde will play with anything other than an attacking but combative 4-2-3-1 formation.

Aritz Aduriz was well-marshalled by Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano in the last meeting so the striker needs to provide some more attacking solutions to enable his side to take the initiative.

Some early balls in from the wide areas from the likes of Markel Susaeta and Inaki Williams’ movement can all contribute to Barca having a less-than-easy ride in the opening stages.

Adriano Correia in particular will need to be more studious in his attacking forays. Without the pace of Jordi Alba to get back, he runs the risk of leaving the Catalans exposed.

Dani Alves‘ particularly enthusiastic forward play and link-up with Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic can keep Benat’s movement in check and may force the tigerish midfielder back into more defensive positions.

Mikel Balenziaga and Aymeric Laporte will have their hands full with Messi marauding down the right, and the Frenchman needs to address how often he is pulled away from a more central position because Luis Suarez is playing well enough to take advantage of any space offered.

Should Pedro Rodriguez have departed for Manchester United by the time of this match, then expect Munir El-Haddadi to get an unexpected early chance to shine in the left-forward position.

Ander Iturraspe and Oscar De Marcos represent a formidable barrier for either Barca player to breach, albeit should Andres Iniesta offer himself in attack on that side of the pitch, he offers a creativity unmatched and a style of play to hurt the hosts.

Mikel San Jose can’t really afford to stray too far from a central-defensive midfield berth, ditto Sergio Busquets for the visitors.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen can add to his growing reputation with another solid performance here. Opposite number Gorka Iraizoz might be hoping for an easier night’s work than the last time Barca came to town.

Player to Watch

The one player who caused Barca problems in the Copa Del Rey final was young Inaki Williams.

Scorer for the Basques on the night, Williams was a thorn in the side for the Catalans throughout.

With Jordi Alba missing, Athletic will look to take advantage of some space in behind. If Williams can get up in support of Aritz Aduriz, as he did with aplomb at Camp Nou, then we could see further reward for his fabulous work ethic.

His movement in behind the centre-forward and ability to spray the ball either side are likely to be key factors in whether Athletic still retain an interest in the tie heading to Barcelona. 

Key Battle 

Aymeric Laporte was embarrassed by Lionel Messi in the Spanish cup final, turned inside and out as the Argentine scored one of the competition’s greatest goals.

In fairness to the youngster, no one was going to stop Messi as he slalomed goalwards.

However, it is Luis Suarez who has already hit the ground running during this pre-season.

The Uruguayan has obviously benefited from a stay at home rather than fulfilling Copa America duties for his country during the summer, and he’s looked sharp in each and every game played.

Laporte has long been regarded as one of European football’s premier centre-backs, and a recent increase in his buyout clause to £36.5 million, along with an extension on his deal, per Adam Crafton of the Daily Mail, speaks of a player well equipped to deal with the demands of domestic combat.

Neymar’s absence weakens the Barca front line somewhat but alongside Messi, Suarez will ensure that Laporte is given the most thorough of examinations. 

If manager Valverde decides to double-up his defenders on Messi thereby limiting his influence, then Suarez will be looked upon as the main supplier of goals.

How Laporte copes with his trickery, aggression and ability will likely determine the outcome.

Odds

The following pre-match odds are available, per Oddschecker:

Barcelona Win: 2/5

Athletic Bilbao Win: 17/2

Draw: 4/1

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Mario Balotelli’s Liverpool career looks to be edging towards its inevitable conclusion, with the latest reports confirming Serie A side Sampdoria have officially lodged their interest in the Italy international.

As reported by David Amoyal, who translates for GianlucaDiMarzio.com, the 25-year-old is not part of the club’s future plans and while his high wages may be an issue, Sampdoria are hopeful of concluding a deal. It’s also noted that the Blucerchiati have already made contact with Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola.

It’d mean a return to Italy just one season on from his move to Merseyside from Milan. Here’s a look at what he’s capable of doing in the Italian top flight:

If Balotelli was to leave Liverpool, it’d be another failed move at another illustrious club. Infamously, he netted just one Premier League goal for the Reds last season and despite being handed plenty of opportunities to impress early in his career at the club, he failed to show the form that once made him one of the brightest forward prospects around.

But his team-mate Alberto Moreno has told Marca (h/t ESPN FC) that scathing criticism of the striker has been unfair and that he has all the qualities to go on to scale great heights:

I think he’s unfairly maligned. He’s a very relaxed guy—he never bothers anyone. He could be a great striker: he’s got the tools.

Things haven’t gone well for him here. He’s really struggled to score goals. ‘This had never happened to me before,’ he told me. I wish him the best if he ends up leaving because he’s a great lad.

There are few denying that Balotelli has the tools to become a world-class player. At his best, he marries power, precision and pace with a ruthless eye for goal. But his attitude has hindered him, showcasing those kinds of traits on a regular basis at Inter Milan, Manchester City, Milan and now Liverpool.

Simon Hughes of the Independent lifted the lid on some of Balotelli’s training ground antics in a recent piece. He claims that the Italian interrupted coaches when addressing the team and once scored an own goal from the halfway line in training for no reason whatsoever. It’s clear a shift in outlook is imperative for this footballer.

After all, Balotelli is approaching his peak years as a player now, and he’ll be acutely aware that the reason he’s such a household name is due to gaffes, not goals. It’s imperative he alters that perception, and based on the acquisitions made by Rodgers this summer—most notably forwards Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Roberto Firmino—there’s no chance he’ll do so at Liverpool.

Sampdoria may be the perfect club for Balotelli. They don’t have spotlight trained relentlessly on them, they’re a team that aren’t expected to challenge for major honours, and that should allow the Italian to focus on his football.

If he doesn’t, a young man who was once destined for stardom will face an unconquerably steep climb back to the elite level of the game.

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Barcelona’s centre-back problems have affected the club for a long time, and now they finally seem to have sorted them out.

Gerard Pique has returned to his best form, and Javier Mascherano has never looked more solid beside him as he does now.

They were the foundation that the club’s treble success last season was built on.

Pique and Mascherano, together at the back as the club kept a clean sheet against Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon and won La Liga.

It was the same pair, big and little, at the heart of the defence for their subsequent wins over Athletic Club, in the Copa del Rey, and Juventus, in the Champions League.

Furthermore, they also have three decent back-up options. There’s Jeremy Mathieu, brought in for €20 million from Valencia last summer.

Though many considered him a needlessly dangerous and expensive purchase, he has proved he belongs at Barcelona with some good performances when required, as well as scoring against Real Madrid in the second Clasico of the season.

Marc Bartra has long been deemed a hot prospect, though his time may never come at the Camp Nou.

Some shaky pre-season performances haven’t done him much good, and it’s tough to see him getting in ahead of either of the two first choices for a while.

Bartra is definitely a talent, and it would be a shame for Barcelona to see him leave like Martin Montoya, to Inter Milan.

Neither Mathieu nor Bartra covered themselves in glory during the 5-4 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday night.

Thomas Vermaelen, meanwhile, finally seems to be fit after missing the entirety of last season, bar the final league game.

So on paper, there’s no need for reinforcement. And yet, if Barcelona were offered the chance to sign one player from Athletic Club, they would pick the Bilbao side’s centre-back, Aymeric Laporte.

Not because they are lacking their own options, but because at 21 the defender is already a star and has enormous potential. He could go on to become one of the finest in his position in world football.

Laporte signed a new deal with Athletic in June, according to the Guardian, which takes his minimum release fee clause up to €50 million.

He’s now contracted to play for the side until 2019, so it’s quite unlikely Barcelona will make a move for him any time soon.

But if they could take him from Athletic easily, they would do it in a heartbeat.

If Joan Laporta had won the club presidential election, Goal.com say he would have tried to sign the Frenchman.

Pilar Suarez wrote: “Laporta has a good relationship with Laporte’s agent, Jorge Mendes, and sources have told Goal that the club would offer him a five year deal with an annual salary of €3.5 million.”

When Barcelona face Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup, Laporte will prove tougher resistance to their sparkling forwards than most defenders do.

He has an extremely cool head and is mature beyond his 21 years. He’s faced up to some of La Liga’s best players and put his body on the line for the Basque team.

Laporte made his first-team domestic debut in 2012 at just 18 years old and has kicked on massively from then.

Strong in the air and exceptionally quick, he also has a fine reading of the game and is good with the ball, which suits the way Barcelona play. The latter would be a big selling point for the Catalan side.

If any one man is going to get in the way of Barcelona and the fifth trophy of their potential sextuple, it is Aymeric Laporte.

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Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli looks set to leave Anfield after the latest in a long line of misdemeanours in his short time with the club.

With Balotelli turning 25 on Wednesday, a video emerged on Twitter showing the Italian striker being drenched in champagne by friends as he celebrated his birthday in the early hours of the morning.

Mario Balotelli received a champagne shower to celebrate his 25th birthday http://t.co/WkLA5NyZys https://t.co/ZE97nr33Pw

— Complex UK (@complex_uk) August 12, 2015

The antics represent only the latest example of Balotelli’s poor behaviour since joining Liverpool from AC Milan in August 2014.

Two instances last season perfectly demonstrated Balotelli’s irreverent attitude. At one stage, Liverpool assistant Colin Pascoe had gathered the players round during training. Balotelli decided it was appropriate to interrupt the coach by shouting, for no apparent reason, “Hey, hey…” at Jon Flanagan, who was passing 30-40 yards by the group. Flanagan was hobbling by as he faced a year out with a serious knee injury.

Balotelli was nearly banished to the changing rooms for his disruption, but his poor behaviour didn’t stop there. Later the same day, the striker scored a stunning goal from near the halfway line, the only problem being it was in the wrong end. Playing in a training match, Balotelli was on the weaker side made up of mainly academy players, when he decided it was appropriate to launch the ball over his own keeper, Brad Jones.

The Italian found it hilarious, while others looked on bemused. 

The latest video showcasing Balotelli’s erratic behaviour was posted by Desmond N’Ze, a friend of Balotelli’s since the pair were team-mates at Inter Milan. N’Ze has been linked to a number of Balotelli’s misdemeanours and was often seen sleeping in the Italian’s car at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground while Balotelli trained last season.

With Liverpool accepting Balotelli’s behaviour is not going to improve, the striker is facing the end of a short and disappointing second spell in England.

[Independent]

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Jose Mourinho‘s first Chelsea stint was successful.

Starting in June 2004, enjoying five major trophies, an unbeaten Stamford Bridge league record and lifting the once middle-class west Londoners to upper-class heights, the Portuguese was a perfect hiring for Roman Abramovich‘s nouveau riche club.

As the age-old saying goes: “All good things must come to an end,” but there was something premature about this particular conclusion.

Arguments over style, youth players and Andriy Shevchenko created fissures in Mourinho and Abramovich‘s relationship after nearly three-and-a-half years; the then-44-year-old manager shockingly resigned from his post in September 2007 with three seasons left on his contract.

Following Mourinho‘s first Chelsea spell, he managed at Inter Milan and Real Madrid for five seasons, winning two league titles, one league cup and the 2009/10 Champions League with the Italians and one league title and one league cup with the Spanish contingent.

It seems the Portuguese has something of a nomadic personality. Whether curious, bored, unable to maintain lasting relationships with those in power or a combination of all three, there appears to be a lack of long-term viability when he is employed.

Returned to Stamford Bridge for a second time, and in his third year, Mourinho‘s perceived differential treatment of others has reared itself yet again.

Since Chelsea’s final game of the 2014/15 Premier League season, there have been three situations involving Mourinho that look like possible harbingers.

The first was Petr Cech‘s sale to Arsenal. Compelled by Abramovich to honour the goalkeeper’s marathon of service, the 33-year-old was allowed to seek employment with the Gunners. Though willing to let the veteran leave, selling Cech to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal was certainly not Mourinho‘s wish.

Furthermore, having an owner tamper with personnel decisions must exasperate a manager with an impeccable transfer record.

Secondly, and related to the first, the Blues have stood relatively still during the current window—despite Mourinho having an extra month during the 2014/15 season to identify targets and the whole summer to chase them.

Less than a month remains before 2 September’s deadline and Chelsea replaced Cech with Asmir Begovic and Didier Drogba with Radamel Falcao. Only select loanees (Victor Moses, Bertrand Traore, etc.) and academy players (Ola Aina, Nathaniel Chalobah, etc.) have been true additions to the first team.

As Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal strengthen their respective squads—spending £147 million collectively—Chelsea have only spent £12.25 million this summer. Linked with John Stones and Baba Rahman, per the London Evening Standard‘s Simon Johnson, Chelsea are yet to capture the signatures of defenders their manager deems necessary for success.

The third incident was Mourinho‘s reaction to physiotherapists running onto the pitch during the final minutes vs. Swansea City last Saturday.

Doctors Jon Fearn and Eva Carneiro, during stoppage time, whilst the Blues were down to 10 men, ran to treat Eden Hazard, temporarily leaving Chelsea with nine players. Visibly enraged by their decision, Mourinho elected to voice his displeasure publicly with Sky Sports in the game’s post-match interview, when asked about his tantrum, Mourinho responded:

I was unhappy with my medical staff because you have to understand the game. Even if you are a kit man, a doctor or a secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game.

You have to know that you have one player less, and when you go to the pitch to assist a player, you must be sure that the player has a serious problem.

I was sure that Eden hadn’t a serious problem. He had a knock, he was very, very tired and my medical department in an impulse, naive, left me with eight out-field players; and in a counter-attack, after a set piece, we were with two players less.

On its face, Mourinho has a point. The medical department should be more prudent when their team is already down one player, but their duty of care is not the scoreboard, rather the players. One cannot blame doctors for being doctors. When a footballer is down—and a referee signals them to provide care—they provide care.

To his credit, Mourinho would not have known those particular comments were going to be paper fodder. Fearn has been relatively anonymous, even though he ran on the pitch first, but Carneiro has been subject of much discussion.

Sparking debates of sexism and treatment of women in the workplace, the 41-year-old makes the story an easy sell—especially given her cult-like status in the minds of many football fans.

Following Carneiro‘s use of Facebook—where she showed gratitude to those who defended her actions—her role at Chelsea Football Club, via the Telegraph‘s Matt Law, was reduced.

Though largely manufactured (and not worth this amount of coverage), the story has predictably caught fire, adding another layer of conjecture on Mourinho‘s state of mind heading into his “second third season” with the Blues.

Signing a new four-year contract to stay at Stamford Bridge on 7 August, the now-52-year-old appears happy to stay in west London, but could those four years be conditional? An inability to control/complete transfers and incessant rows make Mourinho an enigmatic powder keg.

Chelsea would be vacuous to choose “doctors > manager,” and showed their decision via reduced roles, but the public at large—whether fair or unfair—cannot be reduced as such.

There are many avenue to becoming radioactive, some included: arrogance, bullying and showing no sympathy/empathy toward caregivers. If the Portuguese was not going for a hat-trick, many media outlets have given him one anyway.

Winning, though, is the best deodorant.

Travelling to Manchester City on Sunday, Mourinho can mask the growing stench with three points, but Manuel Pellegrini’s league leaders will not be too forthcoming.

Follow @trophytransfer

*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.

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Roma are expected to make a bid for Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho.

According to Football Italia (via Jamie Anderson of the Daily Star) Calciomercato.it are reporting that Roma are looking to strengthen at the back with Sakho seemingly one of their targets.

Anderson also noted: “It’s unclear whether the Italian outfit will table an offer anywhere near the £18 million Liverpool paid for the French international in 2013. But the player himself is believed to be interested in a move away.”

The defender struggled to impress on his arrival at Anfield, but as WhoScored.com illustrates, Sakho has grown increasingly important for the Reds:

Indeed, Bleacher Report’s own Karl Matchett believes Sakho to be a key figure in central defence alongside Kolo Toure:

According to Squawka, the Frenchman won 53 per cent of his tackles, 57 per cent of his headed duels and an incredible 93 per cent of his attempted take-ons while maintaining a passing accuracy of 90 per cent last season.

Having become a crucial figure for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and with Liverpool having paid so much for him, it seems highly unlikely the Reds will allow him to depart for anything less than £18 million at the very least, as his sale would also require an immediate search for his replacement.

Though Roma can offer Champions League football, expect Sakho to remain at Anfield for the foreseeable future.

Fabio Borini Set to Cut Losses and Leave Liverpool This Summer

According to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, “Fabio Borini has accepted his Liverpool FC career is over with a return to Serie A edging closer” with Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina reportedly interested.

Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade said: “There are several negotiations in progress, all with the consultation of coach [Paulo] Sousa. Fabio Borini? He’s one of many possible solutions. The priority is to buy a striker.”

The Italian has failed to make a significant impact at Anfield in his three years at the club. His winning goal in a Tyne-Wear derby while on loan at Sunderland was one of his few highlights in that time, with little of note happening in a Reds shirt.

The 24-year-old will almost certainly struggle for game time once again with Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and even Mario Balotelli likely to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

After his largely disappointing spell in England, a return to Serie A will give the striker a chance to reignite his career and possibly make the cut for Italy’s 2016 European Championship squad.

Liverpool Target Set for Roma Medical

According to Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Johnson, Le Parisien are reporting that Lucas Digne could be on the verge of a move to Roma:

The Paris Saint-Germain left-back made just 15 Ligue 1 appearances last season, and he will likely be tempted by the prospect of regular first-team football:

Here are some of the highlights from Digne’s campaign:

According to Squawka, the 22-year-old won 54 per cent of his duels last season, including 19 tackles and 32 aerial battles.

Fortunately for Liverpool, Johnson does believe the Frenchman will end up in the Italian capital:

The Reds are still in need of defensive reinforcements having only brought in Nathaniel Clyne as a likely regular starter and Joe Gomez having only just turned 18 in May.

Brendan Rodgers has largely bought well this transfer window, and in Digne would acquire a promising young talent whose addition would continue Liverpool’s strong summer spending.

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“He is a winner, he has won leagues,” Gary McAllister, Liverpool‘s first-team coach, told the club’s official website in praise of James Milner. The arrival of Liverpool’s new No. 7 is a significant one for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and in particular for an increasingly marginalised Lucas Leiva.

Milner, who joined on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer, is set to take up a key role in Rodgers’ first team.

The 29-year-old signed a deal worth around £150,000 a week with the Reds, according to the Guardian‘s Andy Hunter. A figure that likely makes him Liverpool’s highest-paid player, following the summer departures of Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson.

Named vice-captain at the beginning of August, too, Milner can be expected to play as many games as possible for the Reds in 2015/16.

What this spells for Brazilian midfielder Lucas is far from favourable.

James Milner

As McAllister attests, Milner brings considerable experience to Merseyside, having spent five seasons in and around the starting lineup at City.

He made 147 Premier League appearances during that time, helping the Citizens to five major honours—including two league titles, in 2011/12 and 2013/14. Like McAllister during his time at Anfield between 2000 and 2002, Milner possesses an innate winning mentality.

This makes Milner a rare commodity within Rodgers’ squad, with very few of his players boasting experience of top-flight success—fourth-choice centre-back Kolo Toure is the only other player likely to remain in Rodgers’ squad this season who has won the Premier League title.

This experience, paired with top-level ability, is what makes him so important.

He can pass; he can tackle; he can shoot. He has supreme tactical intelligence and is extremely versatile—although his assertion, in conversation with the club’s official website, that “you will see the best of me now I am in the central role” suggests he won’t settle for a utility role at Anfield.

His performance in Liverpool’s 1-0 opening-weekend win over Stoke City, though understated, highlighted his qualities. When released from his confusing, reserved midfield role on the introduction of Emre Can on 62 minutes, Milner created with aplomb on the edge of the area, combining well with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Christian Benteke.

What was most intriguing about his Britannia Stadium showing, however, was his tough-tackling presence in the middle of the park. Making a late challenge on former Reds midfielder Charlie Adam toward the end of the first half, Milner offered retribution to the Scot, who had previously—and rather needlessly—shunted him to the ground.

In the absence of Gerrard, Milner can be one of the players Rodgers needs to drag his side through in difficult encounters, and he can be crucial to his tactical setup, too.

Brendan Rodgers’ Tactical Setup

Against Stoke, Rodgers utilised two different systems: 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1.

This largely revolved around two triangles in the midfield—firstly with Milner and Henderson as a deep-lying pivot behind Philippe Coutinho and secondly with Can introduced in defensive midfield, allowing Milner and Henderson to probe further forward.

“What Liverpool do have this season, more than any other, is tactical flexibility; and not the type of tactical flexibility that is forced upon you due to scarcity of player profile variability, but tactical flexibility that allows for you to answer an array of tactical problems,” detailed tactical analyst Jed Davies after Sunday’s clash, writing for This is Anfield.

Davies continues to outline how Milner is crucial within this flexibility, whether this be bursting from the midfield pivot to aid Liverpool’s pressing game in the final third or dragging wide into a near-right-back position when Nathaniel Clyne forges forward.

As Davies asserts, Milner’s flexibility, mobility and tactical intelligence allow Rodgers to implement a variety of systems.

He is an invaluable player, and his level-headed mentality matches his on-field competence, as his post-match summary highlights, via Hunter for the Guardian:

Ultimately, it is about getting that win whether it is a game where we can move the ball about or whether it is a game where it is a battle and we have to grind it out. You have to assess the situation and be able to adapt and play in different formations against different sides. It is a top team that can adapt and win games when things maybe aren’t playing to your strengths.

Milner is a selfless character assuming a key role in a squad led by a manager who is synonymous with the term—it is rare to experience a briefing in which Rodgers does not use the word “character.”

He, along with Henderson, Can and Sunday’s match-winner Coutinho, will form a hugely important part of Rodgers’ first team, with each a key midfield player.

But where does this leave Lucas?

Lucas Leiva’s “Fallout”

Conspicuous in his absence at the Britannia was the 28-year-old Brazilian, though given the competitive nature of a Liverpool squad that also saw £20 million Serbian forward Lazar Markovic left out of the matchday squad, this wasn’t out of the ordinary.

However, the aftermath of this precious victory has seen Lucas become a wantaway figure on Merseyside.

“Lucas was not in the squad to face Stoke City on Sunday, and his eight-year career at Anfield is expected to end before the end of the month,” Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph revealed on Monday evening. This came after the midfielder “was informed he is a back-up player this season.”

Paul Joyce of the Express elaborated further by suggesting in his post-match report that “Lucas [was] left out of the squad entirely following a fall-out which presumably now promotes the prospect of a parting.”

The likelihood of a summer departure was increased by speculation from David Maddock of the Mirror, who suggested that both Inter Milan and Napoli were interested in signing the long-serving anchorman following his Stoke omission. Maddock cites a “frank exchange” between player and manager.

As victory, and a clean sheet, on Sunday showed, Lucas is a reasonably dispensable figure within Rodgers’ squad at this juncture—although the manager will be without a specialist defensive midfielder if he is sold this summer—and a large factor in this is the arrival of Milner.

Milner’s addition to the exceptional group of Can, Henderson and Coutinho sees Rodgers complete what Davies hints as his ideal midfield—”a vision finally obtainable.”

The new Reds vice-captain builds upon the functional diligence and morale-boosting character of Lucas—who offers little more than a rudimentary, yellow-card-swallowing shield for Liverpool’s back four—with genuine pedigree and true quality.

He is not a like-for-like replacement, but Milner’s arrival—and the subsequent shift in Rodgers’ tactical blueprint—has likely signalled the end of an eight-year reign on Merseyside for Lucas.

Losing a loyal servant such as Lucas will be a blow for Liverpool supporters, but the arrival of Milner has atoned for that forfeit.

Statistics via Soccerbase.com.

Follow @jacklusby

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