Roma push to keep Smalling

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Roma and Manchester United are still quite far apart in their valuation of defender Chris Smalling – despite the former being incredibly eager to keep him in Italy.

Roma are hoping to keep the Englishman on the books for at least another year following his successful loan spell with the club, and they’re believed to be willing to pay £2.5 million in addition to an obligation to buy for £14 million. Unfortunately for them, that doesn’t quite meet the expectations set out by the Red Devils.

The player and the club are both interested in seeing Smalling stay in Italy on a permanent deal instead of another loan, and United have also not yet agreed on a loan extension until the end of August.

There are some clear and obvious defensive issues that need to be resolved by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the club, and this is one of them.