LONDON. — Mario Balotelli was yesterday on his way to England for a medical ahead of his proposed move to Liverpool.
The AC Milan striker said his farewells to his team-mates after training on Thursday after a fee of around £16 million was agreed between the clubs.Liverpool approached the Serie A club about the former Manchester City striker’s availability just weeks after Brendan Rodgers denied making a move, and it appears things are moving along quickly.

He scored 17 goals for Milan last season but was booked nine times and sent off once.

Liverpool have been looking for a striker since the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona earlier this summer, although boss Brendan Rodgers previously stated Balotelli was not one of his targets.

Balotelli flew to England yesterday to have a medical after Milan accepted Liverpool’s £16 million offer for him on Thursday, and interesting new details have now emerged about his personal terms.

Firstly, he has accepted a “good behaviour” clause as part of the deal, and now reports say he has taken a wage cut to make the move happen.

The Italy international was apparently on £170 000-a-week at Milan after bonuses, but he has now agreed to earn just £110 000-a-week at Anfield.

It’s thought that Liverpool were only willing to pay the less amount because of doubts about his attitude, but accepting the cut shows how keen Balotelli was to move to Merseyside.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has mixed feelings about Balotelli’s impending arrival at Anfield, telling Sky Sports: “They definitely need a striker, there’s no doubt about that.

“At the moment they only have Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert – it looks like Fabio Borini is going to move on – and you need strikers. Would he be the final piece of the jigsaw? Would he make the starting XI if everyone was fit and firing? Who knows? At the moment Daniel Sturridge has got 36 goals in 50 games for Liverpool and at this
moment he is the main man up front.

“Would Brendan then accommodate another striker, whoever that may be, like he did with Luis Suarez? He has lots of options now, Brendan Rodgers, and I don’t think he will play the same  team too often so they do need those options.”

Meanwhile, Javier Mascherano has backed his Argentina teammate Lionel Messi to respond to his World Cup soccer disappointment on the pitch for Barcelona in the new season.

Messi was named the best player at the World Cup after Argentina lost the final to Germany, a decision that was widely questioned after the forward’s often lacklustre displays.

The former World Player of the Year returned early to Barcelona to concentrate on pre-season training before the La Liga kick-off this weekend when Barcelona, who failed to win a trophy last season, play host to Elche.

“First of all I think Leo is in good spirits, and with drive and ambition to start the new season, knowing as we all do that it will be a demanding campaign,” Mascherano told a news conference in Barcelona.

“In terms of the criticism that he received, then it is obviously unjust. I said in my country, Argentina, that we got to the World Cup final thanks to him, we wouldn’t have played in it without him.” he said. — Sky Sports.

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