Antonio Conte not ruling out Mario Balotelli recall

Antonio Conte has said that he has not ruled out recalling Mario Balotelli to his Italy squad in the future.

The Liverpool striker was left out of the squad for Italy's friendly against the Netherlands last month, and was suspended for their Euro 2016 qualifier against Norway.

The former Juventus boss, who took over at the national side following Cesare Prandelli's departure earlier this summer, told Corriere dello Sport: "I have no prejudice against Mario. I do not rule anyone out, but I do demand my players act like professionals. If you are not focused, if you wander about thinking only of yourself and basically graze on the pitch, then that's not good enough for me.

"My choice not to call Balotelli and [Alessio] Cerci was natural in that sense. From here on we'll see who will play, how they play and what attitudes are like on and off the field.

"With me it's a constant revolving door policy, so you can come in and you can go out. I want a squad of 25-30 players based on meritocracy. I am not interested if your name is x or y, as I want 30 people who think 'we are the Nazionale'."

Italy have qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Malta next month.