The indiscernible story of Liverpool’s transfer window has been a guessing game throughout the past two months. The question of finding an apt replacement for Suarez has been asked time and again.
Liverpool’s rumour mill has churned in and out numerous big names, and Italian striker Mario Balotelli was one of them.
Suarez was undoubtedly the club’s finest talent and the driving force behind their commendable second position last season. The transfer of Balotelli to Liverpool for 16 million pounds raises an obvious question. Will he be a good fit for Liverpool as they look to replace Suarez’s pressing influence on the pitch?
The first point that springs to mind when thinking of a replacement is the shocking number of goals Suarez scored last season. The Premier League player of the season bagged 31 league goals in just 33 appearances during 2013/14, 10 more than his teammate Daniel Sturridge.
When compared, Balotelli’s score doesn’t stack up that well. He scored 14 goals in 30 Serie A matches. It is however, a healthy number. But the point is that Brendan Rodgers will not just be looking at the goal sheets.
Suarez was relentless and supremely talented and the fire in his belly made him a star. Something that Balotelli has no less talent, instead he has it in abundance. Comparing the two would actually lead us no where in lieu of the fact that both are repositories of footballing talent.
It all comes down to man management. Some of the finest managers in the business have tried to handle the Milan forward but have unfortunately been failed in their attempts. But Rodgers is different.
He has found his own way of bringing out the best of players on the field. Suarez couldn’t have succeeded had he not received the sacred guidance and support of Brendan Rodgers in times of sheer crisis. He has his own formula of refining the players since taking over at Anfield.
While forcing Balotelli through his paces will be like taming a lion at times, Rodgers holds the whip in his hands. After coming to Liverpool Suarez braced up fans all around the world with his footballing talent long after being in hot water.
What followed was a season that’ll go down in the Premier League history books forever, and if Rodgers can have that effect on a player like Suarez, then why can’t he do it again?
Balotelli’s talent, clubbed with Rodger’s skills, can bring out the best out and results could be devastating as the Italian is fearless on the goal front.
The 24-year-old has scored 26 goals since making his debut for AC Milan in 2013, which is a remarkable figure. Also, his finishing abilities haven’t ever been speculated. After his transfer some journalists joked that replacing Suarez is like replacing a toothache with a headache. However, that’s untrue.
The fact that Balotelli can score with either foot, his head and even his shoulder is what matters. Having a striker like him will definitely be worth it for the Reds. In Balotelli, Sturridge will have a strike partner and it’s likely that there will be goals showering down once again.
With the team that Liverpool is, Balotelli has a chance to go back to being a footballer, an idol rather than someone who the gentlemen of the game look down upon. It’s a chance for him to get back his lost glory.
Replacing Suarez is no easy task but if Balotelli adopts the right approach and attitude both on and off field, along with guidance from Rodgers, there will be a time when fans will be asking ‘Luis who?’
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