Chris Smalling enjoyed his time at Roma this season and it looked like he would remain there for the foreseeable future, although they could not find an agreement with Manchester United over the valuation.
The 30-year-old was able to get his career back on track in Italy as a consistent performer in the heart of Roma’s defence. After a result of his performances United were right not to let him leave for a heavily discounted price.
I’ve long been of the opinion that if Roma aren’t going to cough up the money required to sign Smalling, it’s only a matter of time before another club attempts to secure his signature.
That interest is here, as per SportMediaset, claiming that fellow Serie A club Inter Milan are looking to match United’s asking price for Smalling because manager Antonio Conte values his experience and desire.
We’ve done a lot of deals with Inter lately, with Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young and Alexis Sanchez all moving from Old Trafford to the San Siro. The clubs appear to be on good terms as far as communication goes, so I wouldn’t rule this out nor do I think Roma’s interest is completely quenched.
The report adds that one of Milan Skriniar and Diego Godin is expected to leave Inter this summer. While I reckon they would prefer to keep Skriniar, he’s the one I would be asking for in exchange for Smalling, though United would likely have to pay a fee on top of that.
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