Borini eager to renew Balotelli link

10 October 2014 12:46

Liverpool striker Fabio Borini is looking forward to playing alongside fellow Italian Mario Balotelli more often at Anfield but accepts Reds manager Brendan Rodgers has plenty of forward options at his disposal.

Balotelli has yet to find his form with just one goal, against Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets, in eight matches and was dropped for last weekend's victory over West Bromwich Albion.

Borini, who rejected pre-season offers to move to Premier League rivals Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers, has been on the field for even less time this season, with just three appearances and only one start.

The 23-year-old has shared the field with Balotelli for just 98 minutes but is confident they could inspire each other to new heights.

"I have played with him before and found it really well on the pitch," he told Liverpool's official website on Thursday.

"Not just because of the language but we were born with the same idea of football, as Italians, so it's really easy to understand each other even without talking.

"He's a player that can change the game whenever he wants. It's a tough league, probably the toughest in Europe -- and I think he understands that.

"In the games, he runs a lot and is really giving himself to the team, being very unselfish," Borini explained.

With England's Daniel Sturridge set to return from six weeks out with a thigh strain when the Premier League resumes next weekend after the international break, Borini and Balotelli's replacement against West Brom Rickie Lambert, will find chances harder to come by.

However, Borini believes the competition can only benefit Liverpool, last season's runners-up, who have failed to hit the same heights this term and are currently ninth in the table.

"We have four completely different players so there is a good choice of players in the squad, because we can all do different things," he explained.

"We can all play together and we can all play on our own up front when it is a 4-3-3.

"It is a good selection of strikers and we can all learn from each other.

"I know there are some things that Rickie might do better than me, so I can learn from him. It's the same with Daniel and Mario.

"We all learn from each other if we have the right attitude. We can all play together.

"I've played in lots of teams but that's something I've never seen before -- such a different selection of strikers."

Source: AFP