AC Milan rule out Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Balotelli swap

Italian side AC Milan have rubbished speculation that they would be prepared to swap Stephan El Shaarawy for Manchester City's frontman Mario Balotelli.

Recent reports have linked Milan with Balotelli, who is said to be unhappy with life at the Premier League champions following a series of arguments with manager Roberto Mancini.

With Milan thought to unable to match City's asking price for the Italian international, it had been claimed that they would allow El Shaarawy to move in the opposite direction.

However, vice-president Adriano Galliani has insisted that El Shaarawy will not be leaving the San Siro during the January transfer window.

"There will not be any exchange. El Shaarawy will remain at Milan. We plan to keep our best players," he told reporters.

Galliani also described a move for Roma's Daniele De Rossi as "impossible".