Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua have completed the signing of AS Roma forward Stephan El Shaarawy for an undisclosed fee. It is unknown what the details of the move are and for how long El Shaarawy will be a Shenhua player.
Stephan El Shaarawy Signs For Shanghai Shenhua
Stephan El Shaarawy has today completed a move to Shanghai Shenhua.
Thank you for your service, Stephan, and good luck for the future! 👋 #ASRoma pic.twitter.com/phfLNWVhaE
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) July 8, 2019
Career So Far for Stephan El Shaarawy
El Shaaraway made his senior debut for Genoa on 21 December 2008, when he was only 16. He is one of the youngest players to have made his debut in Serie A. AC Milan signed him for around €15.5 million in 2011. It was a lot of money for an 18-year-old. Stephan El Shaarawy had a breakout season with AC Milan in 2012-2013. Il Faraone was the club’s top scorer with 19 goals in the season (16 in Serie A). Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career. Monaco signed him on loan in 2015. However, he could not make a good impression there. In fact, El Shaarawy was frozen out of the squad after only six months at Monaco. Apparently, there was a clause in the loan contract which obligated the French club to buy him if he made 25 appearances.
Back on Track
AS Roma signed El Shaaraway on loan in January 2016. He scored eight goals in 16 appearances for the Giallorossi. This made the Roman club decide to make the deal permanent in July 2016 for a fee of €13 million. Since then, El Shaaraway has performed decently with 26 goals in 93 appearances. He was the top scorer in Serie A for AS Roma last season with 11 goals. In fact, he was one of the better performers in a disappointing season for Roma. However, his contract was coming to an end and a new contract could not be agreed upon. It is sad to see such a quality player leave for China at the age of 26.
Struggling Shanghai Shenhua
El Shaaraway is signing for a club not in their optimum condition. Their last manager Quique Sanchez Flores recently left Shanghai Shenhua, citing personal reasons. The club stands 14th in the table, just a point above the relegation zone. Shanghai Shenhua has Odion Ighalo and Fredy Guarin in their squad. El Shaaraway will have to hit the ground running if the club is to improve on its seventh-placed finish last season.
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