It’s been a tense week for those worried about AC Milan losing one of its two remaining special talents, as the club announced that Stephan El Shaarawy, despite the interest from the Spanish La Liga and the Premier League, isn’t going anywhere.
The club made an official statement, that seems to fend off any approaches and offers for the 20-year old forward, who has been playing for Milan for the last couple of seasons.
The meeting between Adriano Galliani, Stephan El Shaarawy and his entourage has taken place. It all went well. Stephan, who has always been a Milan fan, confirmed his strong desire to continue playing in the Rossoneri jersey. That proposal was shared by Milan with conviction and trust. Milan and ElShaarawy go forward together, as they have done since June 2011. No transfer, no rumors, no links. Milan, the Rossoneri colors and the Pharaoh will absolutely stick together.
El Shaarawy had a rough time during the second half of the season, once Mario Balotelli arrived, struggling to find the net after playing in a more wider position than before. He finished the year with 16 league goals, but scoring only two of them in 2013, spending most of the time as a left winger, while Balotelli took up most of the attention and space in the middle.
Balotelli’s presence has also hurt his chances of playing for the Italian national team, where he is a bench player, but was hardly involved in the Confederations Cup, as Prandelli prefers players who can also defend next to Balotelli, who seems unmovable from the starting-striker position at the moment.
Maybe a training camp together will do the two of them a world of good, as El Shaarawy’s interest in leaving all of a sudden definitely had to do with his new positioning on the pitch. Still, at the moment, he doesn’t see himself playing for anyone else.