Nice striker Mario Balotelli missed his side’s match with Monaco on Tuesday night through injury, but Southampton fans believe his absence means that he could be signing for them.
The rumours that the controversial centre-forward could be a target for the south coast outfit during the January transfer window originated from a Twitter post by former Saints winger Leandre Griffit, who hinted that the club may get a “Nice gift” with some “big names” set to arrive this month.
Griffit has since said via his official Twitter account that the player isn’t French, and with Balotelli being Italian everything still seems to fit.
The 27-year-old would certainly be a welcome addition at St Mary’s given their goalscoring issues, and he could certainly help them in the final third having netted 33 goals in 48 matches for the Ligue 1 outfit after joining them from Liverpool in 2016.
Southampton fans were quick to have their say on Balotelli’s omission from the Nice starting line-up via social media, and while one said it’s “Balotelli time”, another said “I see Balotelli isn’t in the Nice team…”
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
