Nice Coach Lucien Favre believes signing Mario Balotelli was “a very good idea” but warns the striker must still improve.
The Italian international is out of contract at the end of the season, and may have played his last game for the club as he is suffering with a thigh injury.
“There’s almost no chance of seeing him on the pitch,” Favre admitted in his Press conference ahead of the Lyon game, before discussing Balotelli’s impact.
Nice Coach Lucien Favre believes signing Mario Balotelli was “a very good idea” but warns the striker must still improve.
The Italian international is out of contract at the end of the season, and may have played his last game for the club as he is suffering with a thigh injury.
“There’s almost no chance of seeing him on the pitch,” Favre admitted in his Press conference ahead of the Lyon game, before discussing Balotelli’s impact.
“He’s scored 15 [Ligue 1] goals, but at the start everyone was asking themselves ‘is this going to work?’.
“It wasn’t easy to gamble on him, but he helped us by scoring goals and he gave us more points and more confidence.
“Then, when it was difficult for him, we were able to pick up some 0-0 draws.
“He’s made some progress though, notably in his positioning. He has pressed very high to win the ball back, which for him is quite extraordinary.
“That said, there have been some matches where he’s done well in the collective and some where he hasn’t. It would take more time, and also we’d have to try to convince him more.
“He’s only 26, one could imagine he still has six or seven years of his career ahead of him. We have to take the positives though.
“In the end, I think it was a very good idea [to sign him].”
Balotelli has been cryptic on his future, posting today on Instagram to thank the Nice fans.
However, he also said “I hope we can be together again… [the] future will tell.”
In all competitions, Balotelli contributed 17 goals in 28 games as Nice reached the Champions League.