Liverpool football team manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that the 16 million pounds signing of striker Mario Balotelli from AC Milan is a calculated risk.
Balotelli watched Liverpool's 3-1 loss at former club Manchester City after completing the formalities of a three-year deal. And Rodgers said that they feel they can bring him in, improve him as a player and help him mature as a young man.
Rodgers said that there is no doubting Balotelli's football talent, adding that time would tell. He said that it is of course a risk, but the Italy international needs to fit into Liverpool's culture and that would hopefully help him improve as a person, The BBC reported.
Liverpool, who finished second in the Premier League in 2013-14, two points behind champions Manchester City, sold 31-goal top scorer Luis Suarez for a reported 75 million pounds to Barcelona in the summer.
Balotelli, a scorer against England in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, had a controversial two-and-a-half-year spell at Etihad Stadium before joining AC Milan for 19 million pounds in January 2013.
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During his time in England he helped City win their first Premier League title in 44 years and scored 30 goals in 80 games in all competitions. However, he was also sent off four times and was pictured having a training-ground argument with then manager Roberto Mancini just before his transfer to Italy.
Rodgers admitted that he had not consulted the temperamental star's former managers, saying that he didn't because if he had spoken to too many people he would have got all sorts of stories about Balotelli.
The Liverpool boss said that he knows what they are getting, and added that it is a calculated risk, but he has been very encouraged by the Balotelli himself.
Rodgers said that the striker knows his flaws and faults and he's looking for someone to help him and there is no better club than Liverpool.
