Roma reportedly remain eager to turn Chris Smalling’s stint with the club into a permanent one as he impresses during his loan spell from Man Utd.
As noted by Sky Sports this week, it had been suggested that the Red Devils expect the centre-half to return to Old Trafford when his season-long loan deal ends with the Giallorossi.
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However, it appears as though Roma will push to keep him beyond this season as he continues to impress and make a key difference in shoring things up at the back.
According to Goal Italy, he has convinced the capital club of his quality to warrant a long-term switch, and so they will push to sign him outright. However, it’s added that it could take some convincing to persuade Man Utd to sell, with talk of at least €15m-€20m being needed to start talks.
After losing Kostas Manolas this past summer, the Italian giants needed to fill the void left behind by the Greek international in their defence, and after a slow start due to injury, Smalling has now stepped into that breach and had a direct influence on a much tighter backline.
If he has adjusted well and is settled in the Italian capital, he could be keen himself to extend his stay rather than return to Manchester and face a battle for a starting berth alongside the likes of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but the one aspect of it that is certain as per the report above is that Roma haven’t needed long to be convinced by Smalling, as they now seemingly believe that he can be the long-term pillar in their defence to lead Paulo Fonseca’s side to achieving their objectives moving forward.
