'Balotelli has changed'

Cristian Zapata believes that Mario Balotelli has “changed his mentality” following his move to AC Milan from Liverpool.

The Italy striker, who originally spent a season at the club in 2013-14, returned to San Siro this summer, bringing an end to a tumultuous spell at Liverpool.

The controversial striker scored just one Premier League goal for the club following his £16 million move, but Zapata insists that the 25-year-old is now ready to prove his worth in Serie A.

“Balotelli has changed, these past few days I've seen a boy that wants to work, that wants to break his way into the team and let's hope that he continues this,” he told Goal.

The striker may feature for Milan in the derby clash with Inter on Sunday, and Zapata has vowed that the squad will do all they can to ensure they take all three points from the clash.

"We know that the Derby in Milano is a very beautiful match, we definitely need to do well, Mihajlovic is a good coach, he has his own type of character, he's always working, he's happy because he's changed the mentality of the players,” he added.

“My message to Milan fans? That we'll give everything we have to win the derby on Sunday."