Inter Milan manager Rafael Benitez has admitted that striker Mario Balotelli could leave the club with Premier League champions Chelsea now reportedly ready to hijack Manchester City’s offer for the Italian starlet.
Driven on by his agent Mino Raiola, Balotelli has spent all summer engineering a departure from the Giuseppe Meazza and appears close to a reunion with former boss Roberto Mancini at Eastlands. However, Raiola and Inter are both determined to secure the highest possible bid for the player with Raiola claiming that City were not the only club in discussions with his client, saying “all doors remain open, there are other clubs”.
Benitez himself has made it clear that Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o is ready to be turned to should he lose the services of Balotelli next season.
“Balotelli? Let’s wait and see what happens. The club decides the transfer market and I adapt. The fact remains that one player doesn’t make the team, and Inter have plenty of strong players,” Benitez said.
“I have spoken to Eto’o. He is a great professional and is ready to do what the team needs.”
Meanwhile, the club are now waiting for Chelsea to make their offer with Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti already having expressed interest in pairing Balotelli with top goalscorer Didier Drogba for their Premier League defence. There are reports that the former AC Milan coach is more interested in the Inter striker than Liverpool star Fernando Torres.
Manchester United may also be a late entry in the race for the striker’s signature with Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson having previously expressed his admiration for Balotelli, describing the striker as the “new Cristiano Ronaldo”. However, the Scot claimed that he was happy with his current squad during a press conference on their North American tour and that there would be no further player additions this summer.
It does appear set that Balotelli would no longer be at Inter before the new season with the striker having stayed behind in Italy as the rest of the squad flew off for their pre-season tour this weekend.
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