If I'm honest, I actually was one of those peopel that didn't think of Boateng as even a decent passer, its partly cause his vision isn't the best and partly based on a pure stereotype, he doesn't look like the type that is a good passer, he looks like what you think Gattuso is (and Gattuso ended up becoming a decent passer, he also lived off a bad stereotype from his early Milan days), but if you actually pay attention you'll notice he is capable of being a good passer.
I feel many here like me have gone with the stereotype when analyzing him.
Everytime I see him play, it's the opposite. Since Allegri always played him as a TQ, I imagined him having somewhat of a capability to string decent passes (ignoring the fact that when he came here, he was primarily regarded a b2b mid).
Suffice it to say he disappointed more than he impressed. He's too careless and gives the ball away too much to be considered a good passer.
The only instances of decent passing that stand out were in 2010/2011:
the through pass to Pato that led to Chivu's sending off in the 2nd derby
the backheel pass to Robinho that led to a goal against Bologna
Edit:
About the Pazzini rumors. Despite the fact that he had a
horrendous season last year, I'd prefer him over any of the strikers we've been linked with recently, except Berbatov.
I can't believe this is what it's come too
