Bournemouth launch audacious Stephan El Shaarawy bid, according to reports in Italy

El Shaarawy, considered one of the brightest attacking prospects in Europe only a few seasons ago, is currently on loan at AS Monaco – but has struggled for form with the French side, with his only goals to date coming in the club's unsuccessful European campaign.

As a result Monaco, currently second in Ligue 1 (albeit 19 points behind Paris Saint-Germain), are hoping to cut short the 23-year-old’s loan – especially given rumours on Thursday that striker Radamel Falcao could return to the club after a similarly underwhelming spell at Chelsea. With that meaning the principality side would once again be responsible for the Colombian's £140,000-a-week wages, cuts would have to be made elsewhere - with Monaco apparently desperate to avoid triggering an appearance clause that would make El Shaarawy's move permanent.

If El Shaarawy does return to San Siro, Bournemouth will look to land him for the second half of the campaign – with a £10 million fee to complete the transfer should the Cherries avoid relegation believed to be included.

They will face competition from Italian clubs: Genoa, where El Shaarawy started his career, Bologna and Serie A challengers Fiorentina are also believed to be interested in the Italy international – who will need a strong second half of the season to keep himself in Antonio Conte’s European Championship thinking.

If El Shaarawy was to end up at the Vitality Stadium, it would be the second high-profile loan acquisition of the January transfer window for the club, after they confirmed the arrival of winger Juan Iturbe from Roma.

Iturbe, like El Shaarawy, was highly-touted after a stellar season with Verona but has struggled to recapture that same sparkling form after moving to the capital club in 2014. Roma are also rumoured to be interested in El Shaarawy, as they look to replace the Paraguay international.

"El Shaarawy is one of the biggest talents among young Italian players. He showed he has great qualities as wide forward during the 2012-13 season, when he helped AC Milan coming back from a troubled start. Since then, he has never found his shape again, lacking form, motivation and because of many injuries. At the moment, only Antonio Conte seems to believe in him and he is giving him a lot of minutes in our national team, even if he struggled at Monaco. Last summer, AC Milan decided to loan him to Monaco with a clause that made it a definite transfer after 25 matches played (for €13m). But, after 24 matches, Monaco decided not to allow him playing anymore - in order not to pay that money to AC Milan.

A transfer almost unthinkable even six months ago, the prospect of a Bournemouth attacking trio of Iturbe-Glenn Murray-El Shaarawy will surely lead to widespread shaking of heads in disbelief on these shores. But as the Premier League grows ever more rich and powerful, it is perhaps only a sign of things to come.

Iturbe and El Shaarawy are both well-paid and highly-valued by European standards, putting them beyond the reach of all but a handful of sides with the resources to meet the selling clubs’ demands. The exception to that is the Premier League, where the blockbuster television deals mean even a club like Bournemouth, promoted only last year, have the resources to both pay the full wages of two such talents and happily agree subsequent permanent fees that could see them spend £25m on two players in one swoop.

If Bournemouth stay up, after all, they will get £100m from the league as part of next season's broadcasting deal - more than all than about 10 European clubs recoup in total revenue in a year.

“We're trying to compete and stay in the Premier League,” Eddie Howe said. “To do that, we need to get the best players. [Iturbe] will bring energy, creativity, pace and can pick a pass. We're hopeful that he can have a big impact for us.”

The Vitality Stadium might not seem the obvious stage for players as touted as Iturbe and El Shaarawy have been but, at a pragmatic level, if the wages get paid many players and agents do not care too much about where they have to ply their trade.

Plus, being in the Premier League puts you in a shop window – should both players impress from now until the end of the season, there is nothing to say they will not eventually be approached by other clubs in England, creating an auction climate their agents can exploit to negotiate wage packets that will dwarf anything they could get in Italy.

"It's a big opportunity for me to come and play in the Premier League,” Iturbe said. “I'd like to thank everyone for making this move happen and I'm very pleased to be here.

"There were a few clubs that were interested but things happened pretty quickly and once this process was under way it was a straightforward decision for me to make.”

It will be interesting to see if El Shaarawy finds the opportunity similarly compelling. Both players may have disappointed over the last few seasons of their career - leading to this situation where Bournemouth could realistically sign them - but may yet find it will turn out to be one of the most lucrative steps they could ever wish to make.