Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is the ‘priority’ signing for Roma, who will make another approach to turn his loan deal into a permanent one this week.
Smalling joined Roma on loan in the summer transfer window having found himself down the pecking order at Old Trafford this season.
He has proved to be something of a revelation in Italy, forming a crucial part of Roma’s defence and earning praise for his performances.
The Serie A side are hoping to turn his move from Manchester United into a permanent one and have been working on that for the past few months.
According to Corriere dello Sport, they will step up those attempts this week as manager Paulo Fonseca believes the Englishman is the ‘defence leader’.
Roma aims to purchase Smalling outright and will do so ‘at all costs’ but are yet to match Manchester United’s €20m asking price.
So far the Italians have only offered €18m, plus the €3m they have already paid for his loan, and need to increase that to get their man.
They also have to overcome competition from Arsenal for the 30-year-old, although he has told Fonseca he wants to stay with the Giallorossi, giving them an edge.
