• Premier League

Balotelli will not score as many goals as Suarez - Crespo

Mario Balotelli is not capable of supplying as many goals for Liverpool as Luis Suarez did, says Hernan Crespo.

Balotelli has scored 14, 12 and 13 goals in his past three seasons and former Chelsea forward Crespo insists those who see the Italy international as a like-for-like replacement for Suarez - who hit 31 Premier League goals last season - have got him all wrong.

"People's judgments about [Balotelli] really come down to what expectations you have," Crespo told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "If you think he's going to score 25 goals a season, then you've got it all wrong. He's never had that consistency. He can decide a game with one amazing moment, but you can't ask him to do it all the time."

For that reason, Crespo believes his former club AC Milan did well to sell Balotelli to Liverpool for £16 million and bring in Fernando Torres as a replacement, even if the Spain forward's figures in recent seasons pale by comparison.

The 30-year-old Torres has found the back of the net only five, eight and six times in the past three seasons, but Crespo believes he can get closer to the 24 he scored for Liverpool in 2007-08 with Milan this year.

"[Torres] a fantastic centre forward," said Crespo, who scored 198 league goals in his own career. "If you take a look at the midfield Milan have got, then he's just the right man to provide the finishes. He is guaranteed to be there in the area and he's a fast player."

Crespo sees similarities between Torres and the man now coaching him, saying of Filippo Inzaghi: "He may not have stood out in terms of his technique, but he was always there to put the ball into the back of the net.

"He's somebody who never gives up and he's the same now he's a coach - meticulous, precise and resolute. He did a great job with the youth team."

However, had Inzaghi not been in charge of Milan now, Crespo, now coach of Parma's youth team, revealed that he was set to become part of Clarence Seedorf's coaching team.

"We had an agreement and I was supposed to be part of Seedorf's staff with Jaap Stam," Crespo said. "I was going to be his assistant coach, but then we all know what happened. I'm used to unexpected things happening. Last year, I was supposed to join [Carlo] Ancelotti at Real Madrid, but I ended up commentating on television."

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