AS Roma haven’t given up on the prospect of having Chris Smalling next season. The defender moved to the Italian club last summer on loan, and was quickly able to impose himself in Serie A.
That, understandably, made Roma want to keep him longer term, but it also gave Manchester United confidence over the player’s value. With the Premier League club thought to be looking for more than €20m, and the Italians not wanting to meet that figure, the saga has been dragging on for some time.
Sunday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport reports Roma remain on the ‘hunt’ for Smalling, as they continue to want to model their team on successful clubs in England.
They have a group of players with Premier League experience, and the idea is they can be moulded into a hardworking unit to battle through Serie A.
Roma are in the process of being taking over by Friedkin, and Gazzetta believe that deal should be completed in a couple of days. When it is, progress is expected in the attempts to secure Smalling from Manchester United.
