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Liverpoola s misfiring striker Mario Balotelli has been left out of the cluba s travelling squad to Finland where they will face Finnish Champions HJK Helsinki on the 1st of August. Brendan Rodgers’ decision to omit Balotelli comes barely a couple of weeks after he was left out of Liverpoola s squad that flew to Malaysia, Thailand and Australia as a part of their pre-season tour.
As a result of Balotellia s omission from the Liverpool roster, the transfer rumour mills are buzzing with suggestions that a possible exit could be on the cards. He has been linked to several clubs outside of England in the past month with Italian club Sampdoria reportedly leading the race to sign the former Italian international.
Mario Balotelli Left Out Of The Travelling Squad
After the arrival of strikers Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Divock Origi (who has returned from his loan spell) to Anfield this summer, Balotelli is expected to move further down Liverpoola s pecking order. Fellow strikers Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert have also been excluded from Liverpoola s travelling party to Finland, with the latter close to sealing his 3 million pound move to West Brom.
(Source: www.squawka.com)
Is There Place For Balotelli At Liverpool?
Balotelli’s typically laboured approach to the game was criticized by several former players and football pundits throughout the course of last season. He was accused of being a a bit mischievousa by Reds legend Steven Gerrard after he overrode on-field captain Jordan Henderson to score the winning penalty against the Turkish club Besiktas in a Europa League encounter last season. BT Sporta s outspoken pundit Robbie Savage labelled Balotelli as ‘pathetic‘ after the latter missed Liverpoola s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Blackburn Rovers due to a illnessa .
Balotelli endured a miserable d but season for the Reds, scoring a solitary goal in the League and having minimal impact on the pitch and hence it will not be surprising to see the Italian international move away from Anfield this summer. The question however is, will he find any suitors?