Italy manager Roberto Mancini has said that Mario Balotelli can make another comeback to the national team, if he can produce consistent performance with new club Marseille. The marksman previously featured for Italy at the Nations League last year but he appears determined to find a way to the Azzurri after switching clubs during the winter transfer window.
Speaking to reporters, Mancini indicated that Balotelli can make a comeback with the Azzurri for the upcoming internationals, provided he can find the consistency with the scoring, he said: “We haven’t lost sight of anyone. Mario is part of the group.He knows that well and he also knows that it depends on him, not me. So far he’s played little. [On Sunday] he played only his second game in months. “But if he scores consistently between now and the end of March, maybe he could come back.”
Balotelli had failed to find the scoresheet in 10 appearances for Nice during the ongoing campaign and he found himself out of favour under Patrick Vieira at one stage. As such, he decided to terminate his contract to make the switch to Les Phoceens and the move has certainly worked out with him scoring in two of his three appearances.
Meanwhile, veteran star Fabio Quagliarella has been called up to training camp ahead of the selection for the internationals next month and Mancini has not ruled out the marksman’s comeback despite him turning 36 earlier in the year, he added: “He deserves to be here, despite his age. He is playing well, scoring goals and is one of the top-scorers [in Serie A]. He has always been a very strong player. “But he himself knows well that he may not be the future of the team.” Quagliarella may be approaching the final years of his professional career but he had gone head-to-head with Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts and he has netted 16 goals during the league campaign. The veteran recently broke a Serie A scoring record after netting for 11 successive matches.