Why AC Milan Need to Keep Stephan El Shaarawy for the Long Term

In recent weeks, Stephan El Shaarawy has been thrust into all different sorts of transfer rumors. The most recent one, from Corriere Dello Sport, involves a direct swap with Roma for Mattia Destro (via Football Italia).

El Shaarawy must be built around and given the chance to find the form that made him a household name several years ago. He's a rare talent that blends searing pace with a clinical finishing touch from outside the box. El Shaarawy is also great in link-up play and can set up teammates.

Milan's 22-year-old starlet has endured a tough period in the last two seasons after breaking out as a teenager in his first season with the Rossoneri. Two seasons ago, El Shaarawy scored 16 goals, 14 of which came before Christmas.

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Ever since then, he's been through countless injuries, which prevented him from going to the Confederations Cup, the World Cup and also made him miss virtually all of last season after finally getting surgery on his injured foot.

Now that El Shaarawy's healthy again, he's finally showing glimpses of the talent that made him a starter on the Italian national team as a teenager.

Although he's only scored one goal this season, a lovely curling finish from outside the box against Sampdoria, he seems to be finding his scoring boots once again. The youngster scored a brace in Milan's friendly against Real Madrid, showing plenty of personality against the best team in Europe.

El Shaarawy also works so well in the build-up play. Once he starts games on a more regular basis, he should be able to become prolific once again. In Milan's recent Coppa Italia win against Sassuolo, he looked like a different player.

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He seemed to have that extra bit of zip going forward and went on a few of his signature mazy runs past defenders, burning them with ease.

Whether or not he was spurned by some of the latest transfer talk is unknown, but he definitely has a chip on his shoulder, especially since his coach Filippo Inzaghi hasn't been using him as a regular starter.

With the introduction of Alessio Cerci, there are many players for those three attacking spots. If Giampaolo Pazzini leads the line, then the other two spots would have to be shared between Giacomo Bonaventura, Alessio Cerci, Keisuke Honda, Jeremy Menez and El Shaarawy.

That leaves plenty of quality on the bench, and more often than not, El Shaarawy has been the one sacrificed.

A few weeks ago, Filippo Inzaghi was asked about El Shaarawy's future by SKY Italia (article written in Italian), and he went on to describe the young forward as a "jewel" and someone whom he had no intention of selling.

Inzaghi has praised El Shaarawy publicly any chance he's gotten to do so. It looks clear from the outside that the two have a great relationship, and the coach has always had kind things to say about his player to the media.

Looking at the future, El Shaarawy must be in it for Milan. The club doesn't have the money to compete with Europe's new lavish clubs for world-class talent and must build it internally.

He's one of the brightest youngsters in Italy, one who has unique skills that are hard to mimic. Simply put, getting rid of him could be a costly mistake that comes back to bite the club in the long run.

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