Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis would welcome signing Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.

Balotelli has been mentioned as a potential makeweight should the Barclays Premier League champions look to bolster their forward line with Edinson Cavani, but De Laurentiis has other ideas.

He told Gazzetta.it: "City are considering letting Balotelli go so they can move for Cavani? I would prefer to see Balotelli playing with Cavani here at Napoli.

"Teams tend to hold onto their best players in January. You take a big risk making big investments now.