El Shaarawy experiment at Milan

By Football Italia staff

There are differing opinions on Sinisa Mihajlovic’s plan to use Stephan El Shaarawy in an Angel Di Maria role at Milan.

So far in his career, the 22-year-old has played as a trequartista behind the strikers, wide left in a trident or in a 4-4-2.

New Coach Mihajlovic said he would like to experiment transforming the Little Pharaoh into a left-sided central midfielder in the Di Maria mould.

“Personally I see him more as a wide attacker with more space to take men on,” ex-Milan midfielder Demetrio Albertini told Tuttosport.

“In the middle he’d need to be more consistent. Stephan does not have the same characteristics as Di Maria, Isco or James Rodriguez, who all settled into that role.”

Mihajlovic appears to have been inspired by El Shaarawy’s work-rate, as he often tracks back to help out in defence.

It is hoped this position would also put less pressure on him to get goals.

There is someone who is enthusiastic about the idea – El Shaarawy’s youth team Coach at Genoa Michele Sbravati.

“Stephan was always a midfielder for me, as in my view that is his true position,” Sbravati told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He played in a three-man midfield and whenever he got the chance would push forward into the box, but he was able to defend too.

“He was always prepared to sacrifice himself for the team and track back, even playing as a striker. He is not some anarchic figure who only thinks about the goal.

“After a while he developed into a winger in the 4-4-2, then at Padova became a trequartista and a striker at Milan. He scored 20 goals at Milan with people comparing him to Neymar and that was his downfall.

“Now people expect 20 goals every time. He could become a very good midfielder with seven or eight goals per season and have more freedom to roam.”

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