Allegri quashes Balotelli rumours; Big Sam wants to keep Reid

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has rubbished reports linking out of favour Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli with a move to Rome.

The Italy international, who joined Liverpool from AC Milan for £16 million last summer, has struggled to settle on Merseyside this season.

Balotelli has recently been linked with Italian Serie A leaders Juventus, but Allegri has moved to play down such rumours.

Allegri told RAI: “I think this is a made up story. Balotelli has done very well with me but he belongs to Liverpool and he is not a player that can arrive at Juventus.”

Despite Balotelli’s struggles, the 24-year-old’s agent, Mino Raiola, is confident the player will be a success at Anfield.

“I’m not worried,” Raiola told RAI. “Mario has been out for almost 10 weeks with an injury and you cannot judge him until he is 100 per cent fit. It’s not easy to go abroad and adapt quickly to a new team.

“Decisions are judged at the time when they are made. In the summer, it was right for Balotelli to leave Milan and I would do it again.

“Mario has gone to the best league in the world. Now he is not doing well at Liverpool for different reasons but Mario is calm and he is working to return to be in top condition. I do not regret this transfer and Mario’s departure from Milan.”

Big Sam wants to keep Reid

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has ruled out the sale of defender Winston Reid during the January transfer window.

The New Zealand international, whose current contract at Upton Park expires at the end of the season, has been linked with a number of top English Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, in recent times.

“There’s no choice for me, he stays – that’s it,” Allardyce said. “If somebody makes a big offer then obviously the chairman decides, but for me he’s staying.

“The chairman decides whether the money is big enough, but for me he stays and I think that the way the club has improved, I think he will stay.

“And I think that what we have done this season, and hopefully [we will] finish off the season strongly, might persuade him to sign for us.

“We are on the up at the moment and we have got a very big future ahead of us, moving into the new stadium. So the club could be bigger than it’s ever been in the next four to five years.”

Reid has scored one goal in 20 league appearances for the Hammers in 2014/15.