Why Stephan El Shaarawy Will Come Good for AC Milan in 2015-16

Stephan El Shaarawy is Serie A's biggest mystery.

Last week, we debated the future of the AC Milan forward, and we arrived at one solution: to spend the next season on a dry loan. A full year away from Milan, a year without the expectation of performing every week like the second coming of Kaka, could allow El Shaarway to find his form and some peace to play his game. 

He has struggled to stay healthy, and a loan at a smaller club could offer the stability that a club like Milan cannot. 

Earlier in the year, there were even reports of a permanent transfer from the mayhem of Milan. Arsenal and Liverpool were reportedly keen on El Shaarawy, according to Bruce Archer of the Express, but his brother and agent, Manuel, dismissed it.

“I've had some requests from abroad, even in January,” Manuel El Shaarawy told MilanNews (h/t the Express) in April. “But Stephan is at home with Milan and doesn't feel the need to leave.”

His brother also excluded a move within Italy. It's not hard to imagine El Shaarawy staying put, despite all of the chaos around the club. Coach Filippo Inzaghi is not expected to remain—neither are many players on the squad, and maybe not even the top brass. President Silvio Berlusconi still has not decided whether to sell a majority of the club—or at all—according to the latest report from AFP via Yahoo Sports.

Ermindo Armino/Associated Press

That leaves El Shaarawy in an awkward place. Here is a 22-year-old who has scored just once for Milan over the past two years, on a team that cannot find a way to win on a regular basis. The two are broken, but perhaps the two can fix each other.

El Shaarawy does have the desire to be great. It's why Milan have stuck with him, as well. They could have sold him at his highest value, but they didn't. There's something more to this player.

“The pressure does not bother me,” El Shaarawy told Milan Channel (h/t AC Milan's website) at the beginning of the season. “I even thrive on it. … My reaction to the pressure has been to set myself the goals of becoming important for Milan again and reclaim my place in the Italy side, regardless of who will be the coach.”

Whether he still feels that way is up to interpretation. He has carried the team before, scoring 14 goals in the first half of the 2012-13 season—their first without all of the veterans. El Shaarawy can be the main man. He just needs Milan to keep believing in him, to promise him the things they did not to their other youngsters. 

There is an easy way out: If El Shaarawy wanted to leave, he could find a top side willing to take him. He could leave behind the mess and the agony of being a Milan player, and no one would blame him. He has dealt with injury after injury, and he still goes back to training with a smile. The determination of this player is not so shaky.

"

C'è sempre un motivo per sorridere,oggi ancora di più... Allenarsi con il gruppo...⚽️💪🏃 #milanello #el92 @acmilan pic.twitter.com/yB2jvRYXr2

— Stephan El Shaarawy (@OfficialEl92) May 12, 2015"

After suffering his last setback, he wrote on Instagram (h/t Football Italia): 

"

You can call it "bad luck," "destiny" or say "it was meant to go that way." The thing you must not do is give up... Surrender to problems, to suffering, to criticism, to envy... it would be the biggest mistake a person could make! I think the real victory is to believe, always, in every situation... Get back up and fight.

"

Those are the words of someone who has a lot more to say about his Milan career.