Earlier today we covered claims from Il Messaggero about AS Roma’s talks with Manchester United for Chris Smalling.
The defender is having a good season on loan in Italy, and the Italian club want to make his move permanent. Roma would like to pay €20m, whereas the English side want €20m, and there’s hope and expectation a deal can be found somewhere in the middle.
Nicolo Zaniolo was also brought into the picture, with it being claimed his name has entered the talks. The report said that as part of a Smalling deal, Manchester United may be able to get first option on the Roma player.
That didn’t sound hugely exciting, given such clauses rarely mean a great deal when the time comes to sell.
Calciomercato are pushing it slightly differently. They also claim Zaniolo’s name has entered the Smalling talks, but add that Manchester United ‘are serious’ about signing the 
20 year old, who has been impressing on the right side for Roma.
Should Zaniolo leave Roma in the short to medium term, and should he then have the desire to leave Italian football, then this may well be one for United, but there’s so many ifs and buts that it all looks very unlikely right now.
