Is Mario Suárez on his way out?

When Mario Suárez was sold to Fiorentina over the summer, he appeared to be the perfect representation of Paulo Sousa's more gritty Fiorentina. A tough tackling enforcer who would show glipmses of brilliant technique on Diego Simeone's La Liga winning Atlético Madrid side, Suárez appeared to offer midfield steel while being able to hold his own technically.

Instead, Suárez finds himself on the bench due to the continued good form of Milan Badelj and the emergence of Matías Vecino, who has filled the box to box role Suárez was brought in for with even more attacking consistency. Suárez hasn't exactly helped his case; when he has played, having hurt the possession that continues to define Fiorentina.  Although a good passer, he lacks the vision to make the most of it, and while his toughness can be welcome, he has all too often been invisible. The unfortunate truth is Suárez has failed to show he deserves more playing time, and as a result has only made 4 Serie A appearences, mostly as a sub. Right now Suárez is competing for Cup playing time with Joan Verdú, and the other Spaniard has arguably shown more attacking upside.

Suárez took advantage of the rare Serie A start this weekend to make his case in the 4-1 victory against Frosinone, scoring the 4th goal by intercepting a weak pass and dribbling through the Frosinone defense, which shows what he is capable of when he applies some focus.

Nevertheless, according to FirenzeViola and Football Italia, Suárez’s representatives reportedly want a January sale for their client after he was dropped. It is believed there is mutual interest between the midfielder and Liverpool, in addition to reported interest from Sevilla .

A lack of playing time at Atléti is what got Suárez to Fiorentina in the first place. The midfilder was often a stand out in los Colchoneros workmanlike central midfield, but also was an enigma at times. As a result, he was mostly used by a sub under Diego Simeone, failing to displace the arguably less talented but more reliable Gabi and Tiago Mendes. Suárez found himself the odd man out after being outplayed by young Atléti prospect Saúl, who plays a similar role, compounded by the purchase of the ultra talented Argentine defensive midfielder (and former Fiorentina target) Matías Kranevitter, who will arrive in Madrid this winter. At Fiorentina he was supposed to have improved odds of starting, but has yet again been overshadowed by a younger player in the form of Vecino.

It would be unfortunate to lose Suárez in the middle of the season, unless of course it's an excuse to once again look into bringing in Walace from Grêmio...or maybe we could just bring back David Pizarro for now...However, the Spaniard is mistaken if he thinks he can earn a starting spot at Liverpool or Sevilla in his current form.

For what it's worth, Suárez himself claimed he is happy to stay after the win against Frosinone, and if he continues to play like that he might yet again be staple in the rotation, but it will likely take more performances like that for his future to be secure.