The 24-year-old has underwhelmed since joining Liverpool in the summer for £16 million but his representative played down links with a move back to Italy

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli will not be returning to Italy, his agent Mino Raiola has stated.

The Italian joined the Reds for €20 million in the summer but a combination of poor form and Liverpool’s dismal start to the season has seen him linked with a move back to Italy.

Reports have suggested his former side Inter are now in the hunt for the 24-year-old. Roberto Mancini, who coached the forward at Manchester City and had several fallouts with him at that time, has recently taken over at the Nerazzurri, but Raiola insists he isn’t going to pair up with his former manager at San Siro.

“A return to Inter is impossible. Not because of Mancini, but for other reasons which aren’t worth talking about,” Raiola said.

“Even Napoli [is out of the question]. Mario will not return to Italy.”

Balotelli has struggled to adjust to life at Anfield, scoring just twice in 14 games since moving from AC Milan but his representative believes he will rediscover the form that has seen him labelled as one of the brightest prospects in the game.

Raiola added: “He is lacking goals and he doesn’t run well, but this is a time that must pass. He now has this injury and we hope he recovers as soon as possible.

“The relationship with the team? It is perfect, the English journalists must not be part of his life.”

The ex-Spain international is impressed by the pace of the German game and has stressed Bayern want to win the Champions League this term

Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso feels the Bundesliga is much quicker than La Liga and added that playing in the German top flight reminds him of his time in the Premier League.

The 32-year-old enjoyed successful spells with Liverpool and Real Madrid, winning the Champions League with each club, before joining Bayern ahead of the 2014-15 campaign and he has no regrets over his decision to move to the Allianz Arena side.

“The Bundesliga is much quicker; it’s more physical than La Liga, which is more technical,” the midfielder told Uefa.com.

“I’ve said a few times the Bundesliga is closer to the Premier League than the Liga.

“But the atmosphere and the stadiums are fantastic, and that plays a big role in how attractive it is for a player.”

The experienced midfielder then went on to discuss Bayern’s Champions League ambitions and insisted that they are determined to go all the way.

“Last year Bayern were really close to getting to the final. In recent years they have had great runs and hopefully this will be another great year.

“But the expectations are to win it; you know you are coming into a club with the highest expectations. It’s a great responsibility, a great pressure for us.”

Alonso also took the time to praise Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

“Pep tries to improve in each training session. For every game, he tries to bring new things to the team, to add new concepts.

“That makes it special, because even [having played] for years with different managers, you feel he brings something different to the team.”

The Merseyside outfit lost their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, and the midfielder is desperate for the club to prove their worth in Europe

Adam Lallana has urged Liverpool to “fight for their lives” when they face Ludogorets in Wednesday’s crucial Champions League clash.

The Reds’ disappointing start to the season continued when they suffered a 3-1 Premier League defeat at Crystal Palace on Sunday – their fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.

Liverpool now turn their attention to a trip to face the Bulgarian champions in a Group B encounter with their Champions League fate at stake.

The Merseyside outfit have collected three points from their opening four games in the competition and sit three points behind Basel in the battle for second place and Lallana has urged his team-mates to put on a good performance for everyone linked to the club. 

He told the club’s official website “It was disappointing, especially after going in front so early. It was a great platform for us to push on and control the game.

“But we didn’t do that – we take full responsibility for that. We need to stick together. It’s as simple as that. When you’re having a tough time as a team, you all need to stay together – you can’t start becoming individuals.

“We win and lose as a team; we need to stay together, keep fighting and keep working for each other. We have got a tough game on Wednesday so we all need to be together for that one.

“We need to win to stay in the competition, so the lads will be fighting for their lives to do that. It’s important, not just for ourselves, but for the fans, the manager and everyone involved with Liverpool football club.”