It’s fair to say that Chris Smalling had a much better season in Roma than many expected, but he could be on his way back to the Premier League already.
When joining Roma it was speculated that he might do better in Serie A because it would allow him to purely focus on defending, and that probably turned out to be true.
His biggest problem at United was he always looked terrified when he had the ball at his feet, and it dragged his overall performance down.
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It was widely expected that he would stay with Roma, but a report from The Manchester Evening News suggests that won’t happen.
They do claim that Roma tried to work out a deal to keep him, but they had to give up after failing to meet Man United’s demands.
It also looks like they aren’t hanging about in the transfer market either, as the same report states that they’ve agreed a deal to sign Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen instead.
They quote Italian outlet Corriere Dello Sport in saying that the Belgian defender will be available for free after leaving Spurs, and Roma have agreed a two year contract with him.
This also raises more questions about Smalling as he’s unlikely to get a chance at Old Trafford next season, but it’s also very possible that no one else will sign him so they’ll be stuck with him next year.