AC Milan has signed midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy from Genoa and sent German Alexander Merkel in the opposite direction, the Italian champions said in a statement Saturday.

    El Shaarawy, born in Italy and with an Egyptian father, impressed on loan at second-tier Padova last season and his move to Milan is the latest in a string of deals between the Rossoneri and Genoa.

    Merkel broke into the Milan first team last season but will now get a chance to be a regular at Genoa.

    Milan is expected to be given the go-ahead on a transfer kitty worth up to 50 million euros (US$71.4 million) for this summer, as the side aims to add a big name signing to its squad before the new season kicks off.

    A club source has told Goal.com that CEO Adriano Galliani and coach Massimiliano Allegri are determined to bring in a superstar name to boost their squad, but won’t rush into anything.

    “The club is looking at figures between 35-50 million euros and the majority of this will be used for the market,” said the source.

    “Once these transfer sums are given the go-ahead from the club chiefs then Milan will start looking to make an assault for their so-called Mr. X.

    “The Mr. X could be Cesc Fabregas or Marek Hamsik, but the club is not planning to make a move until at least the first few weeks of August.”(SD-Agencies)