ENOCH Balotelli, the teenage brother of Manchester City star Mario,
was a surprise inclusion in a young Stoke reserve side at Burton Albion
last night.
There was a deft touch, a piece of showboating and a couple of
theatrical slips on the greasy surface as the striker got used to life
amid Midlands football's second string before withdrawing with cramp on
81 minutes.
The 19-year-old, born in Ghana and brought up in Italy, has been
in England with his brother, aged 21, who was on the bench for
Manchester City in last night's Champions League clash against Bayern
Munich.
Balotelli junior had interested Napoli at one point, but has been training with Stoke's youth team for three weeks.
Academy coach Dave Kevan said: "He's been with training with us for a while and it was good to give him a run out.
"He's a good boy but a little bit raw at the moment. We'll see how things go."