Serie A new boys Crotone have made an approach to sign Italy international Mario Balotelli from Liverpool.

Balotelli recently returned to Merseyside following an unsuccessful season-long loan with former club AC Milan.

The 25-year-old, who scored just once in 20 league games for the Rossoneri, is deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield and was linked with Sampdoria earlier this week.

However, tiny Calabrian outfit Crotone, who won promotion to Italy's top flight for the first time in their history last season, have contacted Balotelli's agent about bringing the striker to the 9,631-capacity Stadio Ezio Scida.

"I made a phone call to agent Mino Raiola for Balotelli," Crotone's president Raffaele Vrenna told La GazzaMercato.

"Crotone are the ideal environment for young talent to grow and express themselves.

"We could be the right place to revive an incredible talent like that of Balotelli, who has unfortunately just experienced a couple of difficult seasons."