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El Shaarawy’s preference remains permanent exit from Shanghai Shenhua

John Solano
I

RomaPress — Former Roma and current Shanghai Shenhua attacker Stephan El Shaarawy is doing all he can to return to the Italian capital this month after the transfer window reopened two days ago.

“Il Faraone” had agreed to a deal with the Giallorossi in October, however, delays in Diego Perotti’s transfer to Fenerbahçe caused the transfer to be called off. Despite being left disappointed, the Italian continued to train in Rome and his will remains unchanged: he wants a reunion with Roma before considering all other proposals.

El Shaarawy’s brother and agent, Manuel, already has a gentlemen’s agreement in place with Shanghai to allow the player to leave on loan as he looks to earn a place in Roberto Mancini’s Euro 2021 team.

Last month, though, El Shaarawy had a change of heart and advised his brother to open talks with the Chinese side regarding a permanent exit. To date, the parties haven’t reached any agreement while a source with Shanghai believes it’s unlikely that an understanding will be reached this month.

With eighteen months remaining on his contract, it’s possible that El Shaarawy initially leaves on loan while his brother simultaneously negotiates a contract resolution with his parent club, who would prefer to sell the player.

Roma, meanwhile, have yet to formulate an official offer to Shanghai for El Shaarawy as they await an update from Manuel El Shaarawy regarding exit negotiations.

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