It’s fair to say to say that Mario Balotelli is a player that divides opinion, both on the football pitch and off it.

And when news broke in the La Gazzetta dello Sport that AC Milan were keen to keep hold of the controversial 25-year-old, a few eyebrows were raised in both Italy and England.

For those who haven’t kept track of the Italian's movements since he relocated back to his homeland: he’s been struggling. One league goal in 16 appearances has been pretty underwhelming, and it very much seems that former Sevilla man Carlos Bacca is the key striker at the San Siro these days. The Colombia international has banged in 17 goals this term in what has been a pretty disappointing season on the whole for the Rossoneri.

They currently sit in sixth place in Serie A, 32 points away from runaway leaders Juventus, which for a team of their size isn’t good enough. Champions League football looks out of the question and many in Italy considered Ballotelli’s return to Italy a failure, with the expectation being that he'll return to Liverpool in the summer. Whether he is part of Jurgen Klopp’s immediate plans is yet to be seen, but he very much seemed like a player in limbo until Milan declared their interest to keep hold of him.

In an interview last week Balotelli clearly indicated his desire to stay at Milan, saying: “I want to stay at Milan - I do not want to return to Liverpool. I was never happy there”. Ouch.

Despite the media suggesting the Italy international could be set to stay where he is, if it doesn’t come off he could very well be looking for a new club. AC Milan have an array of solid striking options including the likes of Carlos Bacca, Jeremy Menez, Luis Adriano and M’Baye Niang, so where does that leave a striker that has struggled for form for two years?

It’s not always been like this for Balotelli, whom many thought was a coup when he first arrived on Merseyside back in 2014. He’d had a strong season for Milan before the move and despite his off-the-pitch antics, he was always considered a striker that would bang in 15 goals a season at least.

So what’s happened? It’s difficult to say. Many thought he would settle back in Italy, but he’s struggled for form. Whether it’s a confidence issue or not, it’s difficult to say, but with EURO 2016 very much on the horizon, Balotelli needs to up his game or face an expected expulsion from Antonio Conte’s squad.

The Italians are always expected to do well and with it being Conte’s last bow for his national side, the pressure will be ramped up to a particularly high level.

Hopefully he can turn it around and be as good as so many know he can be. But with Balotelli, you just never know what you’re going to get.

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