Thursday was a huge day for soccer. Tim Howard announced that he was taking a year off from the national team while Angel Di Maria's departure from Real Madrid was made an inevitability thanks to a shocking stating from manager Carlo Ancelotti.

But arguably the biggest news of the day was the transfer of mercurial striker Mario Balotelli from AC Milan to Liverpool.

The move had been mentioned throughout the last few days and picked up some steam earlier in the day when it was confirmed that the two clubs were talking about the move.

The move is a huge one for Liverpool as it allows them to fill a hole that had been left by Luis Suarez. But is Balotelli a good replacement, or will more issues result from this?

Balotelli is a tremendous talent that is capable of carrying a team on his own offensively. At age 24, the Italian boasts terrific stats across the board. He scored 28 goals in 86 matches for Inter Milan between 2007 and 2010. He then went to Manchester City where he scored another 30 goals in 80 games, including 20 goals in 54 Premier League matches.

And then he went to AC Milan where he scored 30 goals in 54 games. In his first season with the team, he put up 12 goals in just 13 Serie A matches. His totals dropped in the second season, but he still scored a respectable 14 goals in 30 matches.

He also boasts 13 goals in 33 appearances for the Italian National Team, many of the important variety. He scored twice in the Euro 2012 semifinal against Germany and also produced the game winner against England in the opener of Italy's 2014 World Cup campaign.

Adding Balotelli gives Liverpool a player that can potentially replace the 31 goals Suarez put up in 2013-14. Admittedly, Balotelli has never produced like Suarez has (the Uruguayan scored 49 goals in 48 games for Ajax in 2009-10), but he is also three years younger.

However, the Italian will not be expected to carry the goal-scoring load alone and this could help relieve him of any pressure of replacing Suarez. Daniel Sturridge put up 21 goals at the age of 23 and is expected to continue growing into his role as a goal scorer. Raheem Sterling, 19, is also expected to further his goal scoring prowess while Adam Lallana was also acquired for this very purpose.

However, the addition of Balotelli is not as simply as adding more goals. It is more about fitting him into a well-established locker room.

A year ago Liverpool made a solid run in the Premier League thanks not only to Luis Suarez, but the team around him. Manager Brendan Rodgers seemed to find a way to get everyone clicking in a way that had not been seen at Anfield in ages.

The team is seemingly playing in a similar vein despite the departure of its big star, meaning that the chemistry from last season is alive and well.

Enter Balotelli, an immensely talented man who has some issues of his own. His lack of discipline is infamous and his hot-headed qualities on the pitch have caused many teams a number of headaches. He was thrown away by Manchester City in 2012-13 because he was not fitting in with the rest of the teammates on and off the pitch. Then he went to AC Milan where he got off to a hot start thanks to the new start. But in 2013-14 he had a rocky relationship with management and was once again shipped out despite his immense talent.

Balotelli is a larger-than-life personality who likes the spotlight. He is entering a locker room in which there is no longer a main superstar. And he is certainly not going to fill the void because of his name. He might have to work hard to earn that talisman status. And that is where the issue lies.

Balotelli is notorious for often halting his effort and hard work. When he is committed, he is peerless. But oftentimes he decides that he has had enough and simply stops. How will that affect the mentality of his teammates? Is Rodgers really convinced that he can right whatever is wrong with Balotelli at age 24?

More importantly, how will the Italian deal with potentially sitting on the bench if he is unable to prove himself to be above Sturridge, Lallana or Sterling. Will those players be okay with sitting on the bench because Balotelli is the marquee name player?

These are some big asks of Rodgers. He has a whole season to figure it out.

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