As reported by The Daily Mail yesterday evening, Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has extended his Old Trafford contract until summer 2019.
The England international hasn’t always lived up to his billing since signing for the Red Devils in January 2010; earlier this season, Louis van Gaal branded him ‘stupid’ for receiving a double-booking before half-time in November’s Manchester derby.
But his performances have shown considerable improvement of late, recently bagging goals against Burnley and the noisy neighbours, and he’s made the most Premier League appearances of any United defender this season (20), after ad-hoc right-back Antonio Valencia.
The deal, worth around £80k per-week, will be of particular disappointment to Arsenal. They were targeting the 25 year-old last summer as part of a swap deal that would’ve seen former skipper Thomas Vermaelen go the other way, as reported by The Metro in August, and were also linked with a £12million bid in March – as reported by The Telegraph.
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