A regular fixture in the Italian newspapers, the future of Chris Smalling at AS Roma has become a bit tedious, and we’ve tried to not cover it as much.
The main reason is that a lot of what is said on a daily basis is merely old stuff being repeated, like the fact Manchester United want €20m for their defender, which the Serie A side can’t afford.
There was also a period of time where the England international supposedly wanted to return to his home country, but that has seemingly passed and the narrative has returned to him wanting to stay in Rome.
So much so, in fact, that Corriere dello Sport are reporting he’s currently ‘trying to force Manchester United’s hand’ in order to get Roma what they want: him on loan for another year.
They’re not saying how he’s doing it, but it’s the Italian side’s intent to try and secure another year with the 30-year-old rather than bring someone else in.
There’s been plenty of rumours of potential approaches for Jan Vertonghen, Dejan Lovren and now Daniele Rugani, who has been offered by Juventus.
However, the preference would be to keep working with Smalling, since they know what he can do and have been largely impressed with his season so far.
It’s all about convincing Ed Woodward and co., and if the player himself is actively pushing to stay, perhaps something can be worked out.
