Rumour: AC Milan set to offer Mario Balotelli to Manchester United in exchange for Robin van Persie

AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli

Reports in Italy suggest that Mario Balotelli is to be offered to Manchester United in exchange for Robin van Persie, who is thought to be unhappy at Old Trafford.

Apparently Milan have grown tired of Balotelli’s antics and childish behaviour and want rid, despite him topping their scoring charts since he arrived at the club last January.

The Italian forward has a lot of talent and is tipped to become one of the best strikers in European football. However, Manchester City and Inter have already given up on him and his behaviour and now, it seems, that Milan have too.

According to said reports, Balotelli is to be offered to Manchester United, who are currently managed temporarily by Ryan Giggs. The deal would hopefully see Dutch forward Robin van Persie swap places with Balotelli after a season of discontent and injury problems.

Speculation has also linked Balotelli with a move to either Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea who are all looking for new strikers this summer. Some think that Chelsea would be best for his development to work under Jose Mourinho again after they won the treble together at Inter in 2010.

However, Monaco could thwart Milan’s plans of swapping Balotelli for van Persie after Falcao’s comments recently.

“With an ambitious project like Monaco it is normal that you want major players like Balotelli.”

It now remains to be seen whether the new manager at Old Trafford can persuade van Persie to stay and whether Monaco will try and sign Balotelli over the summer.

Only Nigel de Jong (877) has a higher Performance Score than Balotelli (853) at Milan this season.