The closer we get to the end of the transfer window, Chris Smalling’s hopes of returning to Italy next season appear smaller and smaller.
The road to AS Roma is seemingly blocked, while Inter are thinking that if they are to spend a chunk of money to replace Milan Škriniar, then it’s probably best to do it on a younger target.
This is a brief summary of what’s being said in the Italian media on Monday about the Manchester United player, and we’ll delve into it a bit deeper below.
We’ll start with Corriere dello Sport, who have the Inter angle of the story, revealing that Smalling is Antonio Conte’s ‘favourite’ in case of a Škriniar departure, as his age (almost 31) ‘would give a further injection of experience’.
However, Manchester United’s requests ‘are deemed excessive’ by those in charge at the Serie A side, and ‘it would make more sense to focus on a profile with greater perspective’.
Moving onto the Rome edition of Corriere dello Sport (they have extra articles about AS Roma and Lazio), we get the situation from the end of Paulo Fonseca’s side.
According to them, Smalling’s wife ‘would like to return’ to the Italian capital, where the Portuguese manager ‘considers him a priority’.
That being said, it’s also made clear ‘the hopes of convincing Manchester United for Smalling are reducing’.
This is showcased by Calciomercato, who explain Roma are ready to offer the same bid they sent the Red Devils ‘pre-Covid’, which is €14m.
That’s short of United’s €18m demands, and the Italians are ‘counting on pressure’ from the defender to get it done.
The thing is, that strategy hasn’t worked so far, and unless there’s a massive change of heart at Carrington in the coming week, it seems unlikely to work this time around.
It’s not bleak just yet for Smalling, but it’s not pretty either.
