Mario Balotelli’s torrid time at Liverpool could be cut to a premature end if reports in Italy are to come true.

Tutto Mercato Web are claiming that Juventus are in talks with Liverpool over bringing the 24-year old back to Italy.

The report says there is ‘very little’ to be done to complete the deal.

Balotelli has failed to score a single Premier League goal for Liverpool in 12 appearances (8 starts) following his £16 million move from AC Milan over the summer.

TMW say that the deal would be an initial loan for the remainder of the 2014-15 season before completing a permanent transfer in the summer.  A fee of €18 million (£14m) has been mentioned, which would allow Liverpool to claim the majority of their money spent on the player six months ago.

Mario Balotelli has dropped down the ranks at Anfield following a string of terrible performances.  Raheem Sterling has starting up front for the Reds in recent weeks whilst Fabio Borini got the nod ahead of Balotelli on Saturday in Sterling’s absence.

Daniel Sturridge can be expected to take back his first-team place once the England striker returns from his lengthy layoff.

This means that Balotelli’s first-team opportunities at Anfield would be limited, so any chance of a move away would be beneficial for both parties.

However, Juventus already have a number of top strikers on their books currently, which makes it somewhat surprising that they are interested in a player who has been out-of-form for some while now.