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Mario Balotelli still needs time to find success at Liverpool - agent

Mario Balotelli's agent says the Italy international needs more time to prove himself at Liverpool, and has confirmed Juventus are not interested in signing the striker.

Balotelli, 24, joined Liverpool from AC Milan for 16 million pounds last summer, but has yet to score a Premier League goal for Brendan Rodgers' side.

The Anfield coach has left Balotelli out of his starting XI in recent games despite Daniel Sturridge being injured and Raheem Sterling being given an extended break, but Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola has told Mediaset Premium that he hopes the striker can prove his worth.

"[Balotelli] has a contract with Liverpool and can't really be offered to other clubs," Raiola said. "He chose to leave Italy and was aware of what he was leaving; he hasn't had the success he was hoping for, but he still needs time.

"Juventus have denied their interest in him, and I have had absolutely no contact with Inter [Milan], so that's the current situation now."

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, who coached the striker at AC Milan before taking over the Bianconeri in July, confirmed that the club would not sign the player.

He told Italian TV station 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.''

Allegri added in a news conference: "With me, Balotelli had a good year, with a good goalscoring record. Unfortunately he's built a 'persona' outside of the football world and because of this people tend to talk more about what he does off the pitch than what he does on the pitch.

"Whether I would like to work with him again or not, well, I would love to have all the best players, but he's at Liverpool now, and while he is there he needs to concentrate on playing well."