West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has revealed he is pulling out all the stops to secure a loan deal for Italy Under-21 international Mario Balotelli.
The Hammers boss has made the Inter striker, who has failed to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s plans at the San Siro, one of his top transfer targets.
Zola rates the youngster as an outstanding natural talent, but says his plans to recruit the 18-year-old have been thwarted by the Serie A champions.
“I have done everything I can to sign Mario and it would be in both our interests and his,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“There is no place for him at Inter and he is a natural talent. He is very extroverted and he knows his attitude sometimes upsets people, but he is intelligent and is still learning to handle situations.
“He is bold and brazen and that’s an attribute.”
Zola also revealed he was trying to secure a deal for Balotelli’s Inter team-mate Luis Jimenez.
“Let’s hope (we can sign Jimenez),” added Zola. “He is one of those players who play like I used to. It’s not easy to sign non-EU players in England but I think these problems can be solved.”