Forever Faster Training Series: Brendan Rodgers praises Mario Balotelli's integration in training

There will likely be some fireworks in North London on Sunday as Mario Balotelli is in contention to make his Liverpool debut against Tottenham.

The Italian striker, who officially completed his move from AC Milan on Monday, has been training with his new club throughout the week.

Balotelli reportedly arrived at the Melwood training ground at 1:00 p.m. local time Monday to partake in his first training session, spending the bulk of the practice with Liverpool's head of conditioning, Ryan Morgans.

As is the case wherever he goes, Balotelli's arrival at Anfield has been met with concerns over the antics he seems unable to escape. And it's not hard to see why. Remember this is a player who was reportedly found carrying £5,000 in cash upon crashing his car, threw a dart at a youth player while at Manchester City, and burned down his bathroom after setting off fireworks indoors.

As pointed out by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, though, there can be little doubt over Balotelli's ethic on the pitch.

"He is fine," said Rodgers on Friday. "He has settled in very well and has looked fantastic in training. The focus is very much on his football and he has done very well. He is engrossing himself into the club and the people, but more importantly into his football. I look forward to seeing that development over the coming years."

When asked about the general excitement surrounding Balotelli's arrival, Rodgers said: "This is not the Mario Balotelli show. He is a good player, a talented player. But he has got a lot of work to do here. We have a number of top-class players and the star of this team will always be the team."

During the 2011-12 Premier League season, Balotelli was a key component of the Manchester City side that famously won the title following a dramatic 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers in the final match of the campaign. His strike rate of 0.88 goals per 90 minutes was the highest of any City striker this season, placing above the 0.84 goals per 90 minutes of Edin Dzeko and the 0.80 goals per 90 minutes of Sergio Aguero.

Should he produce a similar scoring rate at Anfield, it doesn't seem far-fetched to think Liverpool could win their first-ever Premier League title this season.