Newcastle plan to sign Manchester United center-back, Chris Smalling as he returns back to Old Trafford after his loan spell ended at Roma.
The English professional has two years left on his £130,000-per-week contract with the Red Devils. Reports from the Italian newspaper, Corriere Dello Sport suggest that he is ready to slit down his wage in order to make a permanent move to Roma.
Smalling had a successful spell with the Italian club this season where he featured 37 times on the pitch including 30 league appearances in which he even scored thrice and provided two assists.
His outstanding defending made the fans call him “Smalldini” in reference to the legendary Italian centre half, Paolo Maldini.
According to Sky Sports, Newcastle manager Steve Bruce wants to ‘buy British’ this summer and the English international perfectly fits the sketch. It is no secret however that the Newcastle side will be working with a limited transfer budget after a £300million Saudi-led takeover fell through.
Earlier this month, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prompted that Smalling would stay at Old Trafford itself for the seasons to come.
He said: “I think Chris has shown over his career at Man United how valuable he is for Man United.
This season was about him being a regular, going to Roma, showing and proving how good a centre-back he is.
I wanted to give Harry, Vic, maybe Axel a chance, so we found out that was the best for him to go to Roma, play for a year.
Now he’s coming back and Chris has shown this season that he will be valuable. I’ve been speaking to Chris throughout and been delighted with his season.”
The Serie A side is yet to meet United’s demands for closing the 30-year old on a permanent move. This could result in clubs like Newcastle or Fulham swoop in and close the deal before Roma has the opportunity to wrap their heads around United’s asking price.
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