The last time Liverpool bought a striker from AC Milan, things didn’t go particularly well. They ended up spending £16m on Mario Balotelli, a man with a massive reputation and a lot to prove.
During his time at the San Siro, Balotelli found the back of the net 30 times in 54 games. He looked well set to repeat that feat in the Premier League, but that didn’t prove to be the case. Since returning to English soil, Balotelli has looked like a shadow of his former self. The goals have dried up and his all round play has been largely ineffectual.
Still, that’s no reason to write off another AC Milan striker, is it?
According to The Metro, The Reds are now in the market for Milan’s 22-year-old striker, Stephan Kareem El Shaarawy. This should come as exciting news for Liverpool fans. After all, this is a player who once placed 52nd on a Guardian poll of ‘The 100 best footballers in the world’.
Back in 2012/13, El Shaarawy was considered to be one of the most exciting young attacking talents in world football. He made 46 appearances for AC Milan and found the back of the net 19 times. With his pace, technique and goal-scoring nous, he looked like he was set for big things.
And then disaster struck. The Italian striker has found himself sidelined by a slew of injury problems and he’s barely featured for his club over the last two seasons. With a lack of regular game time, he’s struggled to re-find his goal-scoring form. Last season he scored 1 goal in 9 games. This season he’s played 14 games, but he’s still only managed to find the back of the net just once.
El Shaarawy has suffered an almighty fall from grace. As such, a move to Liverpool wouldn’t be quite as exciting as it would have been two years ago.
Still, that’s not to say that things wouldn’t work out in the long-run. The Metro claim that El Sharaawy’s current form means that he’s available for as little as £9.5m. Given that we all know what he’s capable of, it strikes me that he’s worth a gamble.
Brendan Rodgers is well known for his transfer market bargains. He could be about to secure another one here.
What’s your take? Should The Reds roll the dice on El Sharaawy? Should they look at more reliable options?
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For 10M hell yeah, we normally spend double that on tosh. The saying “form is temporary, class is permanent” springs to mind….