Manchester United did not handle my move to AS Roma well, admits Chris Smalling

Manchester United did not handle my move to AS Roma well, admits Chris Smalling

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Chris Smalling signed for AS Roma this summer from Manchester United

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AS Roma's Chris Smalling has admitted that former side Manchester United failed to handle his move to Italy very well and confessed that it was the lowest point in his time with the club. The 30-year-old left the Red Devils after spending more than ten years at Old Trafford for a ā‚¬15 million fee.

While Chris Smallingā€™s move to AS Roma was inevitable, few expected the English defender to still be at the club in the final few days of the window. However, that is the way things panned out for the 30-year-old with Manchester United unable to come to an agreement with Serie A side AS Roma. But with the Italian giants keen to sign the defender, the two parties eventually came to an agreement with Smalling making his loan move permanent.

This came after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer indicated that he wanted to keep Smalling at the club, as a back-up to Harry Maguire but things clearly changed in the days before the window shut. It has seen Smalling admit, in light of what was a complicated move, that Manchester United did not handle the move well and left him in a bad situation. The defender further added that he was frustrated because he knew his days at the club were numbered but he wasnā€™t given time to make a plan.

ā€œI guess that was maybe the lowest point at United. That was the shock I didnā€™t expect. How it was handled... if I was told earlier that summer - and I donā€™t want to have a dig at Ole - I would have made other plans. I knew that my days under Ole were pretty much numbered. I was just a bit frustrated. One, I would like to have been told earlier and then, secondly, I was only able to go with just a day left of the Italian window being open,ā€ Smalling told the Telegraph.

ā€œThe English window had shut. I was left in a very sh*t situation. I had to decide. After I had that chat [with Solskjaer] it was a case [from him] of, ā€˜Iā€™m not sure when your next game will beā€™. In an ideal situation I would have known early in the summer and made plans and it almost got to the stage where I had a day left. My wife had just had a kid as well. There was a lot going on that happened at the last minute.ā€

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