Manchester United refuse to budge on £21 million transfer fee for Chris Smalling

Manchester United are reportedly refusing to budge on their valuation of central defender Chris Smalling, who has been on loan with AS Roma in Italy this season. The Old Trafford outfit are said to want £21 million for the English defender this summer with Roma £5.5 million away from that valuation, according to The Sun. The 30-year-old was deemed to be surplus to requirements at United by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last summer and there seems to be no way back for the player.

This season, Smalling made a total of 33 appearances for Roma, playing in the Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Europa League. He has scored two goals with one further assist for his club. It is suggested that Smalling, 30, is happy in Italy and wants to remain there after his loan spell ends this summer. Because of that, negotiations between the two clubs have already started and United are reportedly sticking to their guns.

In this scenario, clubs will be the first to moan at United for doing this. They will have their valuation of the player and will rightfully stick to that, as Borussia Dortmund will be doing with Jadon Sancho so far this summer. Whilst United might be in the mood for bargaining, they will not be looking to scrap £5.5 million from their valuation of the player. The coronavirus pandemic will no doubt be causing havoc with the finances of clubs this summer but there is no need for charity.

Roma will have to readjust their financial plans this summer, because of the coronavirus pandemic, as reported by The Sun. The club will be seeking to keep Smalling on loan for another year, paying £3 million for the privilege but then wanting a compulsory purchase of the player in a year’s time, only wanting to spend £13 million to do so. That is clearly not something that United will be accepting as it would mean receiving £16 million for the player when £21 million will be needed.

Perhaps, if Roma want to sign the player permanently, offering United a loan fee for the next season when paying upwards of £15 million for the player in a year’s time might put them in the area of a deal being completed. There is no need for United to accept a fee from the first team that comes along so they will be sticking to their guns and enforcing the fee they want to receive for their player. If a club comes in and offered close to £20 million for Smalling, they might have a deal.

However, in this climate, that might not happen so in that case, United may have to cave in on their demands to secure an exit for the player, despite it being in a year’s time, rather than this summer. However, the club would probably pay all of the player’s wages for the following season, which will mean that United are absolved of that financial demand. The one things that seems prevalent is that Smalling’s career at United seems to be over.

Written by John Walker

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I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.