Manchester United: veteran likely to leave despite a reported breakdown in talks over a potential summer exit

It seems Manchester United are on the cusp of another torrid transfer window.

Everyone present at the ‘Theater of Dreams’ was howling that day. Playing against Manchester United in their footballing mecca is never an easy assignment for the opposing teams, especially if they are surrounded by hundreds and thousands of over-enthusiastic United supporters who not only cheer for their beloved ones but also jeer at those who fight for the whole ninety minutes with an ambition to hurt their feelings.

But, on that day, against Watford, with Jose Mourinho at the helm, the reason behind fans’ lamentation was nothing related to the game or Mourinho’s passive tactics (in fact, they won the game 2-1) but the newly-carved hairstyle of Chris Smalling which The Sun labelled, in one of their post-match pieces, as “bizarre”.

Not only the fans inside the ground, but zealots from all around the globe were splashing their emotions on social media. An extremely ambitious figure, on twitter, joked:

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“Congratulations to Chris Smalling’s hair which has now joined the Bermuda triangle on the list of things that can’t be explained.”

Failing to keep his mouth shut, United legend Rio Ferdinand came forward to provide his feedback:

“I had a few bad hairstyles in my time and he seems to have followed suit a little bit.”

It perhaps wasn’t that bad, was it? Well, as the saying goes, time is the best healer; and, in this case, it is the time that has helped Smalling and his flamboyant hairstyle get jelled with each other, particularly on the eyes of his critics.

The 30-year-old centre-half, once being touted to be ‘the next Rio Ferdinand’, has had been a focal point of discussions since then — not just because of his hairstyle, but also for his uncertain future at the Mancunian club.

Having spent a whole season in Italy with AS Roma last term, Smalling has had rejuvenated his half-drowned career to a great extent, shushing his critics over the English media. Smalling remained an integral part in securing AS Roma’s European fate, showcasing one after other awe-inspiring defensive works at Roma’s backline.

Smalling had to return to Manchester, owing to the fact that it was just a season-long loan deal. However, reports surrounding the Carrington training ground claims that Smalling doesn’t feature in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s long-term plans, with the player also determined to go back and join the Italian side in an attempt to keep his hopes for cutting the England team’s squad in the upcoming UEFA Euro 2021.

Now, as things stand, we have got some major updates regarding his potential return to the capital of Italy in the past few hours. According to a report from Gianluca di Marzio, AS Roma, having faced the rejection in regard to the latest bid made for Smalling, have turned their eyes towards Marash Kumbulla, an aspiring Hellas Verona defender, with a desire to sign him on a loan deal.

Deal is not off, no no.
— John Solano (@Solano_56) September 15, 2020

On the other hand, a reliable Roma-based journalist, namely John Solano, has claimed that the deal for Chris Smalling between Manchester United and AS Roma has not totally collapsed. According to him, Roma wants to secure the Englishman’s signature, irrespective of whether the Serie A giants add one or more defensive bodies to their roster.

With less than a month remaining in the transfer market, Manchester United, who are expecting a fee around £18.2million for the defender, might have to lessen their asking price a little bit in order to offload those whom they dub as deadwood. The Smalling saga certainly starts looking exciting again, obviously from a neutral point of view.

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Do you think Smalling could get into the England squad for the EURO 2021?