Chris Smalling has had a stellar season at AS Roma, as the player was sent on-loan at the beginning of last season. The former United captain has rejuvenated his career and has a lot of suitors for him in Italy. Smalling has his heart set at Roma and the Romans are hell-bent to sign him on-loan and then subsequently on a permanent basis.
Roma and United were in contact earlier when Smallin’s loan spell was coming towards an end with Roma trying to sign the player. But both clubs couldn’t reach an agreement on the structure of the deal. Thus, the deal didn’t go through and Smalling returned to Old Trafford without playing in the Europa League knockout stages for AS Roma.
AS Roma, then, could not afford what United were asking to sign Chris Smalling on a permanent basis. But, with new ownership taking over the Italian club, Smalling’s signing has become a transfer priority for AS Roma. It is widely believed that Roma will have pay about a total of £20m to sign Smalling on-loan for one year and then permanently.
Smalling has also been believed to push for a move to Italy and believes his time at Old Trafford is done. His sale seems very likely, and United can use the funds generated by Smalling’s sale in signing new players.
