Manchester United are reportedly set to meet AS Roma soon to discuss a permanent deal for their defender Chris Smalling, says Gianluca di Marzio.
The Englishman left United this past summer to join the Serie A outfit on loan.
The report by Di Marzio claims that Smalling has already talked to the Giallorossi and has convinced them enough to buy him on a permanent basis.
The Italian journalist states that in the next few weeks, there will be a meeting between United and Paulo Fonseca’s side to ascertain the price at which the Old Trafford side would sell the defender to them.
Impressing in Rome
Since joining the Stadio Olimpico side this past summer, the 29-year-old has done rather well for Roma.
He has appeared five times in the Serie A and WhoScored have rated him as the club’s third-best player so far. He has a rating of 7.33, which is less than only Edin Dzeko and the injured Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Smalling has won the most aerial duels per game for the Giallorossi, with an average that stands at 5.8. Out of players who have played regularly, he also has one of the highest passing percentages, standing at 92.2%.
The former Fulham man has also been one of the club’s best tacklers, going based on the statistics provided. He has won 1.8 tackles per game, although that is only 0.2 more than his defensive partner Gianluca Mancini. While the Italian has won the highest number of interceptions, Smalling is second in that regard too.
In the five games that England international has played in, the Serie A outfit appear to be rather solid at the back as Roma have only conceded four goals in all competitions.
TIF Tactics
The aforementioned stats help show that Smalling is definitely up there as one of Roma’s best defenders so far this season. United could, perhaps, be looking at him and wondering if he could do a job for the first-team in next year’s campaign.
However, they would also know that with Axel Tuanzebe already close to the first-team (he has played three times in the Premier League), the 29-year-old may not get much more senior football if he were to stay. When the 21-year-old was ruled out due to an injury in training right before the Liverpool game, it was Marcos Rojo who played in the left-hand centre-back position.
The Argentine also played for United in Thursday night’s win over Partizan in the Europa League. Clearly, it would appear Smalling may not get enough first-team football at United if he does return to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign.
The England international has already said that first-team football was the main reason why he joined Roma and it will be a wise decision to stay at the Stadio Olimpico on a permanent basis, should the two clubs come to an agreement regarding a transfer fee.