Mario Balotelli's agent has denied reports that the striker will leave Manchester City during the January transfer window, claiming that he has no intention of leaving before his contract ends.

The 22-year-old was dropped from the City squad and was forced to watch from the stands as Roberto Mancini's side secured a 2-1 home win against Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a late winner from Edin Dzeko.

Mario Balotelli
Reuters

The former Inter Milan striker has fallen down Roberto Mancini's pecking order and is now seemingly viewed as City's fourth choice behind Carlos Tevez. Sergio Aguero and Dzeko, who has continuously made a huge impact from the bench.

"There's no Italy and no plans to go there. He'll work until the end of his contract. He doesn't want to leave There's no player happy with not playing in a game but he accepts it. It's all part of the game. It doesn't mean he wants to leave Manchester," Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola said.

The Italian has been linked with a move to former club Inter Milan, with The Mirror reporting that Manchester City were aware of Inter scouts at the stadium during City's 2-2 Champions League draw against Ajax. Inter's neighbour AC Milan are also reported to be interested in signing the striker in January.

Joe Hart Hails City's Fighting Spirit

Joe Hart
Reuters

Meanwhile, keeper Joe Hart has praised the fighting spirit of City after coming from behind for a fifth successive time during their 2-1 win against Spurs at the weekend.

The England goalkeeper believes the spirit the Premier League champions have displayed in their domestic campaign shows that City still has what it takes to successfully defend their title.

"Yes - and hopefully we will be again, we've got that belief. We're not here for anything other than to win. Our quality and spirit combined make us the team we are. We don't turn up to tick boxes or make people happy, we turn up to win. Our resilience is not a quality we've developed. It's just instilled in people. It's a group of winners - 20 players who play to win and we're lucky with that," Hart said,

"That's the only way you're going to win things because people are snapping at your heels, so you have to win regardless of how you play."