Manchester United

Manchester United: Mark Ogden discusses Chris Smalling

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Image for Manchester United: Mark Ogden discusses Chris Smalling

Mark Ogden has been speaking on a recent episode of the ESPN FC Podcast, discussing Manchester United and the immediate future of Chris Smalling.

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One of the topics that was mentioned by Ogden was the Red Devils’ defensive plans, and suggested that they should use Smalling to reinforce their backline following the conclusion of the expiration of his loan deal at Serie A side Roma.

This is what Ogden had to say:

“They need defenders, I mean the defensive record was better than it was, but they still haven’t got a convincing centre-half.

“Now, Chris Smalling is coming back this week from his loan spell at Roma and Smalling’s had a fantastic year.

“For me, they should keep Smalling, they’ve got a ready-made upgrade on [Victor] Lindelof, [Phil] Jones, [Eric] Bailly, [Axel] Tuanzebe there.

“He’s had a great year in Rome; he’s become a bit of a leader, I think that the time he’s spent in Serie A has made him a better defender.”

It seems that Ogden would like to see Smalling used alongside Maguire as he feels he is an upgrade on the Red Devils’ other centre-backs.

Would you have Maguire partnering Smalling?

No, got to be someone else out there

No, got to be someone else out there

Yes, he deserves a chance

Yes, he deserves a chance

TIF Thoughts…

Smalling had a strong season for Roma as he made 30 league appearances averaging a 7/10 rating and also managing to chip in with three goals.

Considering that rating of 7.00 is good enough to put Smalling in second place behind Harry Maguire for Manchester United’s centre-backs, you could argue that Ogden is right to suggest he is reinstalled to the United setup next season.

Smalling also averaged 3.2 aerial duels won per league game, which ranks him in third place among United’s centre-backs across the same statistic, meanwhile his 1.9 interceptions per Serie A game would rank him joint-first alongside Maguire, adding even more weight to Ogden’s claim.

The former Fulham man also has international experience, so if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t buy another centre-back, Smalling might well be the man to partner Maguire in the long term.

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