Crazy Man Utd link-up: Balotelli and Van Persie

Mario Balotelli is undeniably talented.

And undeniably mad.

If Jose Mourinho could not tame the mohawked Italian, can anybody else?

Perhaps there is one man.

A man who has already tamed the likes of Eric Cantona and slapped down the egos of pretty boy geniuses like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

What better way for Manchester United to do a Tevez on City than to prise the crazy Balotelli away from the Etihad – and to Old Trafford.

If Sir Alex can tame Mad Mario, then a strike force of Van Persie, Rooney, Danny Wellbeck, Javier Hernandez and Balloteli will be one to keep the Premier League title  at United for a little longer, surely.

After the move of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal to Manchester United, one thing is clear in the Premier League – there is no line in the sand.

That an Arsenal captain would switch to United a few seasons ago was unthinkable.

That United would bid for one was also considered pretty far out.

It happened, now, anyone is fair game.

This is why more than one club will be tracking Manchester City’s bad boy - Mario Balotelli.

Mario Balotelli's strained relationship with Manchester City has got so bad that the club are urging their academy youngsters not to follow the example of his 'values or behaviour'.

Balotelli's long-term future at City is in doubt after he flew back to Italy within hours of his poor display against Sunderland eight days ago, having been substituted.

Sporting director Brian Marwood, when asked where Balotelli, sits in City's vision for producing the right characters, Marwood said: “It's important (for first team players) to show a good example.

“I look at Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott. We have a lot of players who think and behave in the right way.

“You have to make sure they're the role models.”

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