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Why this Man City star is a breath of fresh air to the Premier League:

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Stood, almost emotionless, arms folded and with a cold, glaring stare, Man City striker Mario Balotelli was celebrating tucking away a penalty to put his side 1-0 up against Newcastle but you’d have been forgiven if you saw the photo and thought he’d missed an open goal given the nature of his stance! Such is the enigmatic quality of the Italian striker, that glorious shot was simply the latest in a long line of newsworthy moments that have involved the 21-year old boy from Palermo.

In this, his second season in the Premier League, Balotelli has written enough of his own headlines to last an entire campaign – never mind four months! Whether it’s setting off fireworks in his bathroom, unveiling self-deprecating T-shirts at Old Trafford or scoring goals of genuine quality, young Mario is never too far away from the headlines. Let’s be honest here, the English game would be a damn sight less entertaining without him around.

Signed by fellow countryman and former manager Roberto Mancini in August 2010 from Inter Milan, Balotelli had a slow start to life at Man City and had to endure the first few months out of the starting XI due to a knee injury, not actually gaining his first taste of Premier League football until the end of October in a 3-0 defeat against Arsenal, a game in which he came on as a substitute.

Once settled in the side, though, Balotelli proved to be more than useful, netting a brace in a 2-0 win over West Brom and a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa roughly a month later. His first season was not without fireworks though (excuse the pun), Balotelli suffered a red card in the game against the Baggies following a clash with Youssuf Mulumbu and had to deal with bouts of homesickness as he struggled with life away from his home country.

Add to this, the fact that he was racking up parking fines around Manchester and throwing darts at players amidst training ground ‘pranks’ and you can see why his manager might have had a headache or two.

However, it is the 2011-2012 season in which the young Italian has really come into his own. Shrugging off the homesick blues and enjoying a healthy run in the side, he is starting to prove that he is every inch as good as the £24 million that Mancini paid for him. Displaying a number of quality assets – strength, positional sense, technical ability, pace – the big, bustling forward has endeared himself to the City fans with a number of memorable performances. See his two goals and outstanding forward play at Old Trafford in the 6-1 demolition of neighbours Man United, or his instinctive near-post finish against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park; both classic examples of a young striker very much on top of his game.

In addition to the qualities provided by his own individual performances, Balotelli has also linked up seamlessly with fellow forward Sergio Aguero in recent weeks. Aguero himself has enjoyed a fruitful start to life at Man City but this can’t have been possible without the aid of a useful strike partner and Balotelli’s intelligent link-up play and strong all-round game add substance to a very healthy forward line indeed; one which has already plundered 42 goals.

In a campaign which has been highlighted by the disgraceful behaviour of one City striker (Tevez and Munichgate I’m sure you’re all familiar with) it’s quite refreshing to see the becoming of another. While proving difficult to manage and notoriously troublesome in his first campaign, Balotelli is coming of age in his second season. The young man is a rough diamond, an immensely interesting character in a division that has long since been starved of one. Fireworks-and-all, I’m sure folk will agree – the Premier League would be a very dull place without him.

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