With this being the last international break before the January transfer window, the Italian media have needed to fill some column inches, and what better way to do that than giving updates on certain deals?
New stories have appeared here and there, but it’s mostly been all about already ongoing ones, like that of Manchester United, Chris Smalling and AS Roma.
We’ve already written many on the subject, and the general consensus in Italy was that everything was heading in the right direction for the English defender to stay in Rome beyond this season.
However, like all transfer negotiations, it’s never 100% smooth sailing, and Il Tempo are reporting that Manchester United are currently ‘resisting’ a bit.
The newspaper are quick to make clear there are ‘no alarm bells ringing’ in Italy’s capital, and that’s it’s just part of the negotiations, but the Premier League side have ‘rejected the first offer’, which was of €10m.
Having already paid €3m for the original loan, Roma aren’t keen on paying a huge fee for the 29-year-old on top, which is probably why they have started so low.
Manchester United, down their end, have set their price at around €18-20m, which has been the figure almost all throughout this saga, so receiving a first offer of half that amount was never going to satisfy them.
Il Tempo explain the Serie A side can count on Smalling’s willingness to stay, revealing the player has ‘clearly told his agents he wants to stay’ at Roma going forward, with talk of a contract until 2024 already being mentioned.
There’s no indication of what the Italians’ next offer will be, but all we know is that their first one has been returned to sender with a post-it note stating ‘more please’.
At least, that’s how we think Ed Woodward conducts his negotiations.
