Italian international commits long-term future to Rossoneri.
AC Milan starlet Stephan El Shaarawy has revealed he wants to stay at the club for a long time and “write Milan history”.
The 20-year-old was linked with a move to the Premier League earlier this summer, with Adriano Galliani initially failing to rule out a potential sale if an attractive offer was submitted.
However, after talks with the Milan chief it was decided that El Shaarawy would remain with the club for the foreseeable future and he will now be targeting a return to form in the new season.
The Italian international was a revelation in the first part of the campaign last year as his goals and overall play single-handedly dragged the Rossoneri up the table after an early struggle.
The January arrival of Mario Balotelli coupled with a dip in form and tiredness ensured that El Shaarawy was unable to maintain that standard throughout the year, which led to critics suggesting that he was too predictable and wasn’t necessarily indispensable.
Nevertheless he has now cleared up his future and is looking forward to writing his name into the history books at the club.
“How close was I to leaving? No, I’ve always been convinced of my decisions, so I never thought about changing team,” he told Tuttosport as reported by Football Italia.
“I have been a Milan fan since childhood, so being here is a dream come true. I would never have left, not even faced with an offer from Real Madrid. I’d have said no to any team.
“It’s also true that concrete requests from the so-called ‘big’ clubs never really developed. I want to be here for a long time and write Milan history.”
El Shaarawy maintains that he and Balotelli are close friends, with the former Manchester City striker helping him through the difficult period last season and continued to encourage his team-mate.
The starlet also revealed that he has held talks with coach Massimiliano Allegri ahead of the new campaign over being deployed in a new position. Milan are expected to switch to a 4-3-1-2 formation next season, with El Shaarawy in more a striker’s role alongside Balotelli.
The former Genoa ace scored a brace against Manchester City in the Audi Cup last week, and he will be hoping that is exactly the kind of confidence boost he needed ahead of the new season.
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