Smalling opens up on Manchester United exit

 

Roma defender Chris Smalling has claimed that he was left in a very disappointing situation with regard to his future at Manchester United.Smalling recently became a Roma player on a permanent basis following a €20 million transfer. Crucially, he made the switch to Roma initially on a loan deal and it was later changed into a permanent move following an impressive campaign in the Italian Serie A.


Smalling has described how he was quite aware that he had no future at Manchester United when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of the club. However, Smalling was disappointed to learn at the last minute that he could leave United. This reduced the number of options available and he had to take the international route to make sure that he was getting game time on a regular basis. If not for this late information, Smalling says that he might have had more options. The 30-year-old is an England international and should have no trouble in finding a club fit for his stature. Over the years, Smalling has been quite successful by winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one EFL Cup, and one Europa League medal.

In his first season with Roma, Smalling ended up making 30 appearances in the league and he was a crucial factor in making sure that the club finished in a very good position. “I guess that was maybe the lowest point at United.That was the shock I didn’t expect. How it was handled… if I was told earlier that summer – and I don’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,” said Smalling.