Newcastle United are interested in signing Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, according to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie.
The report claims the 30-year-old defender, who spent last season on loan in Serie A with AS Roma, is Steve Bruce’s top target on Tyneside.
Manchester United Defender Chris Smalling Wanted by Newcastle United
Options Open
Smalling has experienced a fruitful season in Italy, growing ever popular in the famous yellow and red colours having made 37 appearances.
The Italian giants have made attempts to secure his return for the 2020/21 season, though have so far been unsuccessful.
Gianluca Di Marzio reports that they are likely to return with a new offer.
He also adds that Smalling has decided he wants to return to Stadio Olimpico.
However, the longer any deal takes, the more Smalling is becoming of interest to others.
The Newcastle Chronicle last night claimed Newcastle, among others, have been offered the chance to sign the England international defender.
That report also claims interest from Fulham, who were recently promoted to the Premier League.
Smalling, of course, left Craven Cottage for Old Trafford in 2010.
Fits the Profile
Newcastle United are said to be looking to ‘buy British’ this summer and Smalling, who has represented England on 31 occasions, fits that profile.
He has shown vulnerabilities when attempting to play out from the back, this is not something that Newcastle are likely to attempt to do too often under Steve Bruce’s management, which could be beneficial to Smalling.
Smalling is not likely to figure prominently in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s Manchester United side should he return and if a deal can’t be agreed with Roma, or anyone else in Italy, he may have to accept the reality of joining a lower-placed Premier League team.
Smalling’s Rise Through the Football Pyramid
Smalling has had quite the rise through the footballing pyramid. The Greenwich-born defender started his professional career at Maidstone United.
He then impressed enough at Fulham to attract the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson, who made an offer he simply could not turn down.
Since then, Chris Smalling has almost ten years of experience at Manchester United, amassing over 300 appearances.
The experience in Italy is not to be played down, few England internationals have been brave enough to go abroad and test themselves as Smalling has done successfully.
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