Di Marzio: Roma Will Redeem El Shaarawy on Wednesday

Somewhere in France, Stephan El Shaarawy's ears must be ringing because SES is suddenly all the rage. A day after discussing the sickening Leandro Paredes-for-El Shaarway swap deal, it appears as though Roma has landed their man without mortgaging the future. Regardless of what you think of Paredes, the SES deal in no way should have come to this; even for Roma €13 million should be affordable, there's no need for a make weight. And now it appears as though Paredes and SES will play alongside one another.

Transfer demigod Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Roma will, after all this, meet Milan's June 22nd deadline for redeeming El Shaarawy's contract, and all at the previously agreed upon price of €13 million; imagine that. El Shaarawy, you may recall, caught fire with Roma, scoring eight goals in sixteen appearances, resurrecting his once dormant career in the process.

While the prospect of swapping him for Paredes suddenly brought the true measure of the man into question (for some fans), there can be no doubt; no matter what you think of El Shaarawy, he was vital to Roma's run in 2016 and seems perfectly suited for Luciano Spalletti's attack.

We bag on the management an awful lot around here, deservedly so IMO, but let's give them credit here. Credit for taking this risk to begin with, and credit for (hopefully) making this a permanent move.

El Shaarawy is electric, infectious and effective. If you're looking for a new fan favorite, look no further.