Monday, 25th August, 2014
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers feels that his side are getting a Mario Balotelli who is starting to mature, after the Reds signed the striker from AC Milan for €20m.
Balotelli put pen to paper on a contract at Anfield earlier today and then headed to the Etihad Stadium to watch Liverpool lose 3-1 to Manchester City.
Rodgers' signing of the Italian has been questioned given the controversy which has dogged Balotelli's career.
But while the Liverpool manager feels there is some risk to the move, he also believes Balotelli is developing a certain maturity.
"I've, all my life, given players an opportunity and this is a guy, when I looked in his eye, he's 24 years old, he's become a father and he knows he's got a responsibility, not just for himself, but for this great club", Rodgers told Sky Sports.
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"For us, he's part of our team and we'll look to develop that side of him and he's clearly got world class talent.
"There's no doubt that there's a risk with it, but it's a calculated risk.
"I've been able to assess the environment that we've got and the characters we've got and that allows me to take a risk", Rodgers concluded.
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