As you might have heard, Chris Smalling’s season as AS Roma is now over and the centre-back will be returning to Manchester United.
How long for is the real question, as there appears to be little future for him at Old Trafford, but it could be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could give him a final chance in the early stages of next season to see how beneficial his time away from the club has been.
That being said, it appears that if the right offer comes along, the 30-year-old will be sold, and the price has magically gone up again now that he’s no longer contract to AS Roma.
Gazzetta dello Sport look at the situation on Tuesday, explaining the difference between the Italian side and their Premier League counterparts is ‘ample’: they can reach €18m in total while Manchester United want €20m + €5m in bonuses.
Furthermore, Roma would want to pay their fee over a number of years, while Ed Woodward wants that cash in his club’s pockets as soon as possible.
That’s why Gazzetta state Smalling’s situation is ‘tied to the possible sale of the club from [James] Pallotta to [Dan Friedkin]’.
The new investor could provide the funds to give Paulo Fonseca his centre-back, but until that happens, there’s little chance of a move taking place.
Pallotta wants a sale by the end of the month, so perhaps we now have an idea of when a deal could happen if it ever does.
In the meantime, Smalling will just have to sit tight and wait, unable to play for either Roma or Manchester United in the Europa League.
