Pato predicts bright future for El Shaarawy

Alexandre Pato has praised Stephan El Shaarawy and believes the Italy international has what it takes to become an AC Milan great.

The 20-year-old has been in sublime form for the Rossoneri in the opening months of the 2012-13 campaign, netting six goals in nine Serie A appearances.

And Pato hopes his team-mate can keep up his fine form.

“El Shaarawy is still growing and he is a great player. He is on the right track and I hope he can do very well at Milan,” Pato told Sportmediaset.

Reflecting on the weekend’s win over Genoa, the Brazilian attacker admitted that Milan did not have an easy game.

“We struggled against Genoa, but the most important thing was to bag the full three points after some disappointing results,” he said.

“We must forget about our previous results and focus on the future. We have to keep working hard in training, and try and get a good result against Palermo (on Tuesday).”

Milan currently sit 11th in the Serie A table with 10 points from nine games.