West Ham United have been persistently linked with a move for Italian striker Mario Balotelli since January.
West Ham are desperately in need of a new striker or two.
Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez have left the club while Marko Arnautovic will follow them out of the door imminently (Sky Sports).
The likes of Maxi Gomez and Salomon Rondon have been linked with moves to West Ham (Daily Star).
But both deals are very much hanging in the balance.
Balotelli in the frame?
That has prompted talk the Hammers could turn to bad boy Balotelli, who was linked with a switch to West Ham back in January (talkSPORT).
And reliable West Ham insider ExWHUemployee has claimed Balotelli is on Pellegrini’s list this summer too.
Speaking on The West Ham Way podcast on Phoenix FM (Wednesday 12th June) and several times on Twitter since, ExWHUemployee told listeners Balotelli was one of a few strikers being considered.
Many feel he would be worth the gamble, believing he has matured since his Manchester City days where he was more famous for his actions off the field than those on it.
After all West Ham fans love a maverick.
But just as many feel West Ham should steer well clear.
Worth a gamble or big mistake?
The first mistake many people make is believing Balotelli played for Pellegrini at City.
In fact Pellegrini did not work with the 28-year-old Italy striker at the Etihad. Balotelli had already left for AC Milan on loan before the Chilean took over.
The second is that he has matured and suddenly started to fulfil his potential.
A total of 43 goals in 76 games for Nice was an excellent return. But Ligue 1 is one of the weakest competitions in Europe.
Then take into account he failed to score a single goal in the first half of last season with Nice.
Balotelli then upset new boss Patrick Vieira with his behaviour and attitude.
The Arsenal legend said he wanted to ‘slam Mario Balotelli up against a wall’ but had to take a different approach as a manager (talkSPORT).
Balotelli and the maturing myth
Balotelli then engineered an exit to Marseille in January after a dispute with Vieira.
He did rediscover some form with eight goals in 12 games for L’OM.
And that has put him back into West Ham’s thinking.
With 14 goals in 36 appearances for Italy Balotelli clearly has pedigree at the top level.
New headlines from Italy about an alleged immature prank suggest the Hammer should steer clear, though, if they want to avoid the Balotelli circus coming to East London.
Pellegrini and Noble would have their hands full
The likes of talkSPORT picked up on the story first reported on Football Italia after Balotelli reportedly paid the owner of a Naples bar nearly £2,000 to ride his moped into the sea before then posting the footage on Instagram.
Balotelli later posted footage on his Instagram Stories to his 8.8 million followers, showing the Vespa had been retrieved and was remarkably still in working order.
And the striker seemed to celebrate by having a cigarette.
Whatever your opinion on Balotelli one thing is for certain. There would never be a dull moment.
But Pellegrini and captain Mark Noble would certainly have their hands full.
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