Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero is making a personal transfer pitch to Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli.

Tuttosport says Ferrero has flown to England to move forward with the club's summer transfer dealings and to begin talks over his No.1 target.

The Italian club are interested in taking the ex-Milan and Manchester City striker back to Serie A, after a difficult debut season at Anfield.

However, the player's salary is beyond the Genoa club, as is the £16million fee Liverpool would like to recoup.