El Shaarawy To Spurn Manchester City Advances To Stay At Milan For Life

Stephan El Shaarawy has all but ended Manchester City's hopes of signing the forward by declaring his intention to stay at AC Milan for the rest of his career.

City have been linked with an audacious move for the 20-year-old as Roberto Mancini prepares for a summer of restructuring after the club surrendered their Premier League crown to Manchester United.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani addressed such rumours earlier in the week, explicitly ruling out the sale of the 20-year-old forward, who has struck 16 goals in 33 Serie A outings this season. The Milan chief stated the club had "no intention" of parting with the forward, a statement which was met by a positive response from El Shaarawy.

"I am feeling good at Milan and hope to stay for life, El Shaarawy told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Hearing Galliani's words that I am not for sale, made me extremely pleased."

El Shaarawy has been paired with former City enigma Mario Balotelli for the second half of the season, but the former Genoa forward has struggled with form in past months. Despite leading the club's top scorers ranks, El Shaarawy has not found the back of the net since the 1-1 draw against Inter in February, a drought that the youngster is growing frustrated with.

"I was disappointed on Sunday after the match against Catania [a 4-2 win for the Rossoneri] as I had some good chances, but didn't score," the forward added. "Obviously I miss the feeling of finding the net. I'm an attacker and forwards always want to score."

Following the departure of Mario Balotelli and the continued doubt over the future of Edin Dzeko at the Etihad Stadium, City are likely to be in the hunt for a striker this summer.

Napoli star Edinson Cavani has been continuously linked with the club, who is also wanted by Qatari-backed Paris Saint Germain. The Sunday Mirror have suggested that City are ready to launch a bid that will meet the striker's £52 million release clause, which would make the Uruguayan the most expensive player in British football.

It is reported that a deal has already been sounded out by the club's sporting director Txiki Begiristain and given the green light by chief executive Ferran Soriano, a move that will kick start another summer spending spree at Eastlands.