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Liverpool Echo har publicerat ett antal kommenterar av Mario Balotelli. Om att spela under Rodgers sa Balotelli: “He is very good, a strong character, and I think that comes out in the way the team plays.

“I think he can help me improve as a player. He is very open, everybody can talk to him, but first he looks at the person, and second he looks at the footballer. With Brendan, you need to be a good person – you don’t have to be, how do you say it, a d***head.

Vidare erkände Balotelli att han måste hitta bättre positioner i straffområdet: “I need to get in the box more. I don’t do it enough, but it is something I am working to try to do more. I have never been a real, out-and-out striker – I have always been someone who goes around the pitch, you know?

Han gör heller ingen hemlighet av att han skulle föredra att spela med en anfallskollega på topp: “If it was my choice, I would always go with two strikers. It’s the way I like to play, but Brendan asked me to play as the first striker. I understand that when the ball comes from wide on the left or right, I need to be in the box otherwise there might be no-one there at all.

“I can see already that the Liverpool fans really like me, although I know that maybe they are a little upset because I don’t score. I see they appreciate that I am working hard, though, which is nice for me.”

Balotelli är minst sagt sugen att göra första PL-målet: “I know I have one goal in the Champions League, but in the Premier League I have to start with one. After that, I might set myself a target, but I swear right now my first league goal is my first and only objective.”

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AS Roma är villiga att betala Glen Johnson €3,5 miljoner i årslön när hans kontrakt med Liverpool går ut. Johnson är ute efter ytterligare €1 miljon, men Roma hoppas att erbjudandet ska få engelsmannens representanter att vilja inleda förhandlingar (SportItalia).

Lille har förkastat de rykten som gör gällande att Divock Origi kan komma att flytta till Liverpool redan i januari (The Daily Mail).

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Raheem Sterling vill spela U21-EM nästa sommar (The Mirror).