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Mario Balotelli and Jose Mourinho

Why Chelsea’s shock move for lively striker makes sense

Jose Mourinho fuelled speculation this week that Chelsea will make a move for Mario Balotelli this summer by praising the ability of his former striker. 

The Italian forward left the Premier League just over 12 months ago when he moved to AC Milan from Manchester City and though he’s impressed during his time at the San Siro, speculation is rife that he could be ready to return to England. 

Blues boss Mourinho worked with Balotelli during his two years at Inter and though they endured a fractious relationship with one another in that period, the pair are believed to have put their differences aside in recent years.

“In football you never know the future,” said Mourinho. 

“Balotelli is with a big club at the moment but you never know the future.

“They want to keep the best players and want to keep the best Italian players, but Mario has already been in English football before.

“I’m not going to be manager of Milan or the Italy national team, but he’s a good kid and somebody I’d like to work with again”.

Mourinho's damning comments on his current batch of strikers were leaked last month, but it's no secret he has been searching for a striker since he returned to the club last summer. 

With Balotelli seemingly maturing, could he be the striker that Mourinho craves? talkSPORT investigates.

Balotelli has matured since his time at City
Balotelli was know as much for his exploits on the pitch as well as off during his time in England. Captivating the media’s attention with stories of fireworks in his house, camouflaged cars and spontaneous shopping trips, the striker was a dream for the tabloids and filled endless column inches with tales of his pastimes. Balotelli’s ability has rarely been doubted, but his actions outside of football landed him in hot water with former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini. The striker's compatriot had always been a staunch defendant of the player and brought him to the Etihad after working with him at Inter. However, Mancini finally washed his hands off Balotelli last January.

Fast forward 12 months and Balotelli appears to be a different player. Having earned the transfer of his dreams to AC Milan, the striker has often carried a side lacking the inspiration of teams from years gone by, scoring 26 goals in 41 appearances for the Rossoneri since his move and has taken on extra significance in the Italian national side.

Having turned 23 last August, Balotelli is entering an important period of his career where he must continue the progress he’s enjoyed. Under Mourinho, the player will be looked after by a manager who fiercely protects his own and will be afforded the opportunity to once again play under the man he won the Champions League with in 2010.

Champions League
Despite prospering personally during his time back in Italy, AC Milan’s form has been poor. The Italian giants scraped through to the last 16 of the Champions League this season, but face an uphill task to reverse a 1-0 first-leg home loss against Atletico Madrid if they are to remain in the competition. Worse still, the club’s league form means they’re increasingly unlikely to be playing in the competition next season with Clarence Seedorf’s side languishing in 10th place in the league and 17 points behind Napoli in third.

Though Balotelli is still young, he will be 25 at the earliest before he plays for AC Milan in the Champions League again (unless Milan win this year’s competition). This notion is reliant upon the belief that Milan will win back their spot in the competition next year. However, this cannot be guaranteed in a league where the likes of city rivals Inter, who are also set to miss out on Champions League football in the 2014/15 season, look intent on heavy investment.

With Balotelli’s future at the highest level uncertain, the possibility of a move to Chelsea increases. The south west London club can provide him with Champions League football and a genuine prospect of trophies. During his time at the Etihad, he won the FA Cup and the Premier League title, where he memorably set up Sergio Aguero for a last-gasp winner to win the title in 2011/2012. Furthermore, as the club’s greatest asset, question marks linger over whether AC Milan can keep hold of a player they spent over £20m on, when finances are sure to be affected by the club’s absence from Europe’s elite competition.

He’s got something to prove
His talent can be forgotten about when his name is plastered across the front pages more than the back, but Balotelli showed during his three years in England why he was voted FIFA's Young Player of the Year in 2010.

Though it often felt as though Balotelli was a moment away from self-implosion, the Italian's movement, finishing and decision-making improved during his time over here.

During Euro 2012, the forward’s performances during Italy’s progression to the final against Spain earned him well-earned plaudits. In the semi-final against Germany, the Azzurri were underdogs, but Balotelli showed his quality on the highest stage with two goals of the highest pedigree.

However, there were not enough moments of magic from Balotelli during his time in the Premier League. He scored just 20 league goals in 56 appearances during his two-and-a-half seasons in the north west and was often not trusted to start the biggest matches.

The striker will feel as though he still has plenty to prove in the Premier League and this could be beneficial for both the player and Chelsea if he were to return to England.

Conclusion
Having failed to prise Wayne Rooney from Manchester United and the likes of Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani proving too expensive or simply unattainable, Chelsea’s striker wish list is looking bare. The idea of Balotelli turning out for a Chelsea team managed by Jose Mourinho would have been unimaginable 12 months ago but as Mourinho says: “In football, you never know the future.” Watch this space...

Chelsea fans, do you think Balotelli is the answer to your striker problems? Let us know by commenting below...

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