Rumour: Mario Balotelli hints at Premier League return

Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has dropped a hint that he may be willing to return to England soon after admitting that he misses the fans.

Balotelli endured a controversial three-year stint in England with City in 2013 and had been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks after they signed a kit sponsorship deal with Balotelli’s sponsors, Puma.

The Italian forward had previously suggested he could be open to a return to England after Milan’s slide down the Serie A table, but poured cold water on any immediate discussions, with Arsenal rumoured to be preparing a bid that would see Lukas Podolski go the other way.

Balotelli told FourFourTwo: “I miss the fans. I’ll tell you what I don’t miss though. I don’t miss the food or the weather, or the stupid way you are always expected to drive over there.

“But yeah, the City fans, I miss them. Even though the Milan fans are just as good.

“I have to say, most of my memories of Manchester are really happy ones. I enjoyed myself there.”

Arsenal are in the market for a striker after seeing a raft of targets bypass them in the January transfer window, leaving Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner as the only two natural strikers at the club.