City hope to tie up Balotelli deal this week after giving up on Dzeko
Published 23:00 27/07/10 By David McDonnell in Houston
Manchester City hope to thrash out a deal for Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli when the two clubs meet this week ahead of their game in the US on Friday.
City officials will meet with their Inter counterparts before the pre-season friendly in Baltimore, in the hope of bringing a successful conclusion to their pursuit of the 19-year-old striker.
Inter want £30m for Balotelli but City are only willing to pay £20m, with the fee rising to a maximum of £25m upon the completion of certain add-on clauses within the deal.
Despite the disparity in the valuation of the player between the two clubs, City remain confident of getting Balotelli, whose volatile character has made him a liability at Inter.
City's determination to sign Balotelli comes after they effectively gave up on trying to capture Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko, with the German club - managed by former England boss Steve McClaren - unwilling to lower their £42m asking price.
