There’s no place like Roma as clock ticks for Smalling
CHRIS Smalling is set to miss the final stages of the Europa League with Roma and return to United, with the Serie A giants running out of time to do a deal for the centre back.
Smalling has excelled in Serie A this season and Roma want to keep the 30-year-old, but the deadline to register squads for the Europa League is tonight – and a deal isn’t considered close.
The original loan deal that took Smalling to Roma for the season was extended to cover the end of the Serie A campaign, but it was never going to be extended again to take in the conclusion to the Europa League this month.
Instead, Roma would have to complete a permanent transfer or another long-term loan for Smalling and that is unlikely to happen in time for him to be registered in their squad for the final stages of the competition.
Roma paid a £2.7million loan fee to United for this season and Smalling has been a regular for the Giallorossi, starting 29 Serie A fixtures and a further seven Europa League matches.
Roma sporting director Gianluca Pertrachi has already confirmed that the club want to keep Smalling, as well as former United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and that he thinks the players want to remain at the Stadio Olimpico as well.
“The numbers don’t lie, they have been two successful loans,” Pertrachi told Sky Sports in Italy last month.
“We, unfortunately, lost Mkhitaryan for a physical problem for a little bit, but he’s very comfortable here just like Smalling.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep them, especially since they want to stay here. We’ll find out in
Chris Smalling in action for Roma
the future if we are able to or not, but I feel the players are on my side.”
While Smalling is expected to return to United ahead of the conclusion of the Europa League, he is not eligible to be registered in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad for the competition.
United face LASK Linz in the second leg of their last-16 tie at Old Trafford on Wednesday and hold a 5-0 lead from the first leg. United will then face FC Copenhagen or Istanbul Basaksehir in the quarterfinal on Monday, August 10, at 8pm at the Stadion Koln, in Cologne, with the tournament concluding in Germany.
Roma face Sevilla in the last-16 and having not played the first leg. That tie will be played over a single-leg this Thursday in the MSV Arena, Duisburg.