Chris Smalling was sent out on loan to AS Roma during the summer transfer window and the 30-year-old seems to have rediscovered his form back in Italy.
The defender joined Man United in 2010 from Fulham and during the past ten years, Chris Smalling has not quite been able to cement his place in the first XI.
So with Harry Maguire coming into the squad during the summer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chose to send him out on loan to the Serie A, where he has proved that he is very much capable of playing regularly in the top flight.
So far, he’s made 14 appearances for Roma and in each one of his outings, the defender has oozed brilliance. So much so that even Solskjaer has admitted that Smalling will be returning back to Man United once his loan spell is over.
“Yes[he’s returning back]. He’s a boy who couldn’t be here without being a regular and we decided on that,” Solskjaer said.
“I am so, so happy for him because we can see the top player he is.”
But it seems like a number of clubs have grown a liking towards Chris Smalling and want to sign him during the January transfer window.
And one such club is Premier League outfit Arsenal who are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements.
David Luiz has obviously failed to provide defensive stability since joining from Chelsea and as per the latest reports, the Gunners are planning to make a move for Smalling at the start of next year.
The London club though aren’t the only one interested in signing the defender since AS Roma are also thinking about making the loan deal permanent and are willing to offer 13 million pounds in exchange for the player.
It is still unclear as to what Man United would want to do with Chris Smalling but all said and done, we don’t think Solskjaer will be ready to offload the 30-year-old during the middle of the season especially to a club who are also fighting for an EPL top-four spot.
