Stephan El Shaarawy Might Be Headed Back To Milan

According to Milan Channel (Milan's private channel), Stephan El Shaarawy, despite being linked to other teams like AS Roma, Genoa and Fiorentina recently, could still make his return in rossonero during this transfer window. The French club seems to be determined not to let him play anymore, refusing to reach the automatic purchase clause in his contract, so Il Faraone is clearly looking for a new destination.

With Luiz Adriano transferring to China for €14 million, the rossoneri free up a spot in the roster for a forward and a lot of space for a "new" big contract like El Shaarawy's. It's certainly an exciting prospect for many fans, who still love the young forward despite his long struggles with injury and form over the past few years. A fresh start in Milan would be something that many would be eager to see him get, and this seems like a perfect chance for it.

Despite the financial possibility of having Il Faraone back in rossonero again, it wouldn't make sense from a tactical standpoint. In effect, the 23-year-old forward is naturally a left winger who does not adapt well to playing in other positions. That means he wouldn't improve the quality of the starting lineup, but would only add depth in Giacomo Bonaventura's area of the field. The only scenario where the return of El Shaarawy could make sense is the one where Milan have already planned to replace Siniša Mihajlović with another manager at the end of the season, one who could make better use of the youngster, but that's simply conjecture for the moment.

All that said, even if Il Faraone seems to be closer to a Milan return rather than joining yet another new team, where he plays the rest of the season is still a mystery. His situation at Monaco is very complex and won't be easy to resolve quickly -- but hopefully there will be more news about that sooner rather than later.