A loan move to AC Milan could be on for Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.

The Mirror says Balotelli may have played his last game for Manchester City - with manager Roberto Mancini ready to ship him out to AC Milan on loan.

The Italian giants are ready to capitalise in January by offering Balotelli an escape route for the remainder of the season.

Milan had initially expressed an interest in buying Balotelli, who played for their arch-rivals Inter Milan before moving to City, but simply can't get near the likely £20million asking price.

But with Mancini prepared to offload his fellow Italian, he will be receptive to a loan deal if it leads to a permanent transfer at the end of the season - and sources at Milan suggest that sort of arrangement would suit them just fine.