My future at AS Roma will be decided at end of season, confirms Chris Smalling
Manchester United star Chris Smalling has revealed that his future will be decided at the end of the season with the defender on loan at AS Roma. The move has transformed Smalling with the 30-year-old now heavily linked with a move back to England with Roma also interested signing him permanently.
The Englishman is contracted to Manchester United until 2022 and the club have the option to extend that even further but Harry Maguire’s arrival saw Smalling moved on. While it was a loan move to AS Roma, the 30-year-old has transformed his career there and has slowly become one of the best defenders in Italy with a slew of impressive performances. That has seen him linked with a move back to England with Arsenal, Tottenham and even Everton amongst many interested.
But with Roma and AC Milan also keen on a move, Smalling went on to confirm that his future will be decided at the end of the season. The 30-year-old admitted that he already told Roma that it was always the case with him keen on spending the season before making anything permanent. He also added that it’s one of the reasons why the loan move has no option or obligation to make the move permanent.
"I was not surprised by the lack of either a call-back clause or an option to buy. Even when I spoke to them, it was a case of 'let's have a good season, hopefully it all goes to plan, the team is successful and I am successful' and at the end of the season we'll sit down. That was the plan at the start of the season and obviously we're not finished yet so come the end of the season we'll see what the plan is,” said Smalling reported Sky Sports.
"I spoke to [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer]… Over the previous years, I had been used to playing in nearly every game when fit. So to cut that in half, when you look around at other opportunities, there was nothing better than that could have come up. We spoke openly and we made it happen."
The 30-year-old has already admitted that he would love to make the move to Roma permanent and that has seen the two clubs in intense discussion over a potential move. While no deal has materialized as of yet, it has seen Smalling’s performances hit another level with him a key reason why the Stadio Olympico side are doing so well. However, it’s been down to the way the Englishman settled down and the loanee admitted that the fans and his teammates helped with that.
“When I first came it was exciting but also daunting because you're not sure what to expect. New country, new experience. But considering the way I've settled in, the love that I have felt, especially from the fans but everyone in Rome, it will be an interesting decision to make. Some of the other players said if you really hit the ground running, the love that you can have in this city is unbelievable. That's really what I've felt and so have my family. Long may it continue,” he added.