Chris Smalling was once again presented as being on the verge of a move to AS Roma last week.
At first, a transfer by the weekend was suggested, and then it would be sorted over Saturday and Sunday, and now we’re on Monday and the defender remains a Manchester United player.
Roma manager Paulo Fonseca hopes to have Smalling available for the match against Verona on Saturday. The Serie A club currently await the ‘final and affirmative’ answer from Old Trafford over whether they’re going to accept the current offer.
Corriere dello Sport report the transfer ‘should close’ for ‘about €12m’ which includes ‘easy bonuses’. That doesn’t sound like a great deal for Manchester United, especially given they’ve been negotiating for months to try and get a much higher price.
Smalling will sign a four year contract worth €3m a season, a figure which will be after tax. He’ll be able to earn bonuses on top of that, likely related to European qualification.
So, as usual, there’s confidence in Rome about a deal being close, but it’s still not quite over the line.
