Smalling on verge of move to Roma
CHRIS SMALLING is being lined up for a shock loan move to Roma as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer oversees a ruthless Manchester United clearout.
Alexis Sanchez completed his loan switch to Inter Milan yesterday and Smalling is expected to follow him to Italy’s Serie A. Neither has a future at Old Trafford under Solskjaer, who has got tough with his squad just as Jose Mourinho did in his first summer at Old Trafford.
Smalling has not made the bench for any of United’s opening three games this season, with academy product Axel Tuanzebe
preferred among the substitutes. Roma are working on a loan move for the England central defender, who only signed a three-year United contract last December — four days before Solskjaer took the reins.
Matteo Darmian is also free to leave before the European transfer window closes on Monday evening. Valencia, AC Milan, Juventus and Parma are all interested in him.
Solskjaer has been given the goahead to reshape his squad, but is under no pressure from the United hierarchy to get high earners off the books. United’s wage bill was last published in September 2018 and stood at £295.9million. But that is likely to fall this year as most players earn 25 per cent less because they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
In 2016 at United, Mourinho shipped out a number of squad players in his opening months and made sure some big names like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay knew their time at Old Trafford was up.
Solskjaer has taken a similarly hard-nosed approach during his first pre-season as manager. Romelu Lukaku sealed a £74million move to Inter Milan earlier in the month. Sanchez did not fit into his plans either. United were so keen to get rid of him they have committed to paying £170,000 of his weekly wage.
Sanchez’s 18-month spell produced three goals, a terrible return for someone who United paid a minimum of £400,000 a week.
United are unlikely to be quite so accommodating in subsidising Smalling’s £100,000-a-week wages and want a loan fee of up to £3m.
Solskjaer will have six centre backs on the books, even if Smalling departs. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are the first-choice pairing, with Tuanzebe and Phil Jones behind them. Eric Bailly remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Marcos Rojo expects to still be at United come Tuesday after Luke Shaw sustained a thigh problem that will keep him out for a month.
With Sanchez gone, 17-year-old Mason Greenwood will act as cover for Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford up front. Martial is out of tomorrow’s trip to Southampton with a thigh injury.