Arsenal

Arsenal will have to pay £25m to sign Smalling

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Arsenal will have to pay £25million if they want to sign Chris Smalling from Manchester United, according to the Daily Star.

The newspaper claim that Man United have based their valuation of Smalling on West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans, who is believed to be worth in the region of £25million.

The Daily Star report that Arsene Wenger has a long-standing interest in Smalling and that Jose Mourinho’s side are open to the idea of selling him.

The 28-year-old has made 31 appearances across all competitions for Man United this season, and has scored one goal.

Smalling has been at Manchester United since 2010, after joining from Fulham, and his current contract is set to expire in 2019.

Good move for Arsenal?

Maybe.

Smalling has always shown glimpses that he is capable of being a reliable Premier League defender, but the centre-back has never been able to consistently perform to a high standard while at Old Trafford.

A change of scenery could help him fulfill the potential that he has shown, but £25million is a pricey gamble to take on someone.

Arsenal are definitely in need of a new centre-back, but whether Smalling is the right option is definitely debatable.

This is Futbol rating: 6/10

Likely to happen?

Surprisingly likely.

Manchester United are open to the idea of selling the defender, according to the Daily Star’s report, and it seems believable that Wenger would be interested in buying him.

While the two are Premier League rivals, the clubs have conducted business with each other before, just look at Alexis Sanchez leaving Arsenal to join Manchester United in January.

It’s true that the Gunners were kind of forced to sell Sanchez due to his contract expiring, but they had plenty of other clubs they could have sold him to instead, if they had problems dealing with Man United.

This is Futbol rating: 7/10

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