Reds prepare to axe Balotelli and buy new striker.
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Liverpool could be preparing to make the changes they need up front this summer as they hope to sell flop signing Mario Balotelli to Turkish side Trabzonspor.
In his place, the Reds are being tipped to sign Sevilla front-man Carlos Bacca, who has a very generous-looking release clause of £21.3m with the La Liga club, according to a detailed report from The Sun.
Balotelli only scored one Premier League goal for Liverpool last season, proving a massive disappointment since he joined the Merseyside giants from AC Milan, where he had looked like getting back to some of his best form.
Sadly, the Italian international has once again struggled to fulfill his potential in English football, having also largely flopped during his time as a Manchester City player. After just one hugely underwhelming season, it now seems Liverpool could be ready to sell him straight away, with a move to Turkey seemingly now on the cards.
Bacca, meanwhile, has really shone for Sevilla this season, scoring 28 goals to make it a total of 49 in his two seasons with the club, an impressively prolific record.
The Colombian international is also a big-game player, netting in the Europa League final victory over Dnipro last season, and based on recent form it looks fair to say he would be a major upgrade on Balotelli and indeed on the Reds’ other options in attack, with players like Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini also struggling, while Daniel Sturridge has had some injury concerns in recent times.
With Liverpool also supposedy looking at Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain, who would cost far more at a whopping £67m (via the Guardian), then The Sun’s rumoured fee of £21.3m for Bacca looks a real bargain if the Premier League giants would wish to pursue it.
The Sun adds that a number of other players could follow Balotelli out of Anfield this summer, including defender Sebastian Coates alongside the other underperforming strikers Lambert and Borini.