Roma have reportedly made a new offer which could total €17m in order to keep Man Utd loanee Chris Smalling at the club next season and beyond.
The 30-year-old has spent this past season on loan with the Giallorossi and has established himself as a key figure in the heart of their backline after making 28 appearances.
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Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has publicly insisted that he wants the England international to stay, as noted by La Gazzetta dello Sport, but question marks have been raised over whether or not it will be possible given the financial issues involved.
Aside from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which could limit spending in itself, Roma are still battling to qualify for the Champions League next season and so time will tell if they can overcome that particular hurdle too.
Nevertheless, Football Italia report, via the paper edition of Il Tempo, that the capital club are optimistic about keeping Smalling as they have made another loan offer with an obligation to buy.
It’s suggested that while talks have continued between the two clubs, they will pay a €3m loan fee to keep him for next season, while they would then be obliged to pay €14m to buy him outright next summer.
That in turn would mean that they would have paid €20m in total for Smalling since his initial arrival, and that could be enough of a financial incentive for Man Utd to approve of an exit.
With Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly offering enough defensive quality for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, it’s difficult to see where Smalling fits in at Old Trafford.
Time will tell if all parties concerned agree to the new terms, but it would seemingly make sense as Smalling will hope to continue to impress when Serie A restarts later this month as it’s noted in the report above that he’s keen to stay at the Stadio Olimpico.