Gianluca Mancini, a talented 23-year-old, was recruited and Roma were linked all summer long with moves for Dejan Lovren and Toby Alderweireld. The comments below have not been moderated. Harry Maguire was ushered in for a world-record fee, which meant that Smalling’s opportunities would be greatly limited. As if he’d not made enough of an impression since joining AS Roma on loan from Manchester United in the summer, defender Chris Smalling really stood out as an exceptional talent on the week of his 30th birthday. In doing so, Smalling has notched up some impressive stats in Serie A. With an aerial threat like Smalling in their ranks, the club's No 1 ranking comes as no surprise. Unlike the Premier League, Serie A isn’t a league with teams blessed with exceptional pace nor the intensity which often broke him in England. Like many Premier League stars over the years, he was attracted to a move to the Serie A. Those who thought he was finished when he walked out of the door at Old Trafford this summer could not be more wrong. As it stands, Chris Smalling is returning to Manchester United next season. Manchester United's under-fire skipper Harry Maguire will NOT ask boss Solskjaer for a... 'The team is the most important thing and Gareth is here to help the team': Jose Mourinho hints that he will... MARTIN SAMUEL: All Liverpool had to do to remain revered champions was not be a self-serving club like... Superhero Salah! Anybody sleeping on the Manchester United loanee suddenly snapped out of their slumber. Roma manager Paulo Fonseca, the man who wanted to bring him in and pushed hard for him at the end of August told him that he would be playing every week if he showed good form. Liverpool star dons fancy dress costume to celebrate his daughter's birthday... but will he be Jurgen Klopp's Mr Incredible in the Merseyside derby? Smalling is not letting him down. With his ability in the air, Smalling was easily able to nullify the aerial threat many Serie A teams rely upon. Get the game's greatest stories and best journalism direct to your door for only £9.50 every quarter. Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has made Smalling his on-field leader as he excels in their defence, Per 90 minutes, Smalling is thriving compared to those back at parent club Manchester United. All of the above will naturally lead to speculation that Smalling will soon be in line for a recall, but it’s difficult to see that the player will be able to replicate the form he has displayed in Rome, should he return to the Premier League. Chris has been influential at the centre of AS Roma’s three man defense. United have watched him closely: they’ve sent senior staff to Rome, and the central defender is in regular contact with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and several of his team-mates. As Chris Smalling stole the show with a goal and two assists at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday to pile further misery on rock bottom Brescia, 1,200 miles away in Yorkshire his parent club fell to pieces. Decent options for the bench or rotation, but Roma needed some more serious firepower at the back. After last month's 2-0 defeat to Canada — the first loss to their neighbors in 35 years — Berhalter needs a win in Orlando to help rectify the USA's position in the first-ever Concacaf Nations League. This is the moment of truth for Canada's men's national team. But few can argue with the renaissance he is enjoying in the Eternal City. Sometimes the players know who the leaders are out there.". Opinions have certainly shifted. Premier League live stream best VPN: how to watch every game from anywhere in the world, Rescue package from Premier League still on table despite EFL rejection, EFL clubs reject Premier League’s £50m rescue package, Victor Moses joins Spartak Moscow on loan, Nascimento: We are expecting a challenging season, PSL confirm Player of the Season Nominees. Roma, who finished a disappointing sixth in 2018-19 are currently fourth, are ahead of Atalanta and Napoli now, both of whom qualified ahead of them in the Champions League spots last season. The 30-year-old chose Italy while Trippier chose Spain, both with the intention of improving their defending and proving they are still worthy of places in the England national team. Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed, Roma have made a breakthrough in their move to sign Chris Smalling permanently after agreeing a deal with Manchester United, Watch Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes score amazing free-kick in training... before trolling goalkeeper sending fans wild, The centre-back has rediscovered his form in the Serie A. Roma and Smalling were keen to make the move permanent. United had been holding out for around £25m but appear to have dropped their valuation. Simon Riddiough, the head coach of the Hofstra women’s soccer team, spent about two minutes of a 21-minute interview Tuesday afternoon discussing why he’s content at the Long Island school and not planning to see if he can replicate his success with a higher-profile Power Five school that would offer the resources and opportunities to make a deep NCAA Tournament run that are generally lacking in the mid-major arena. Scoring a goal and providing two assists in Roma’s 3-0 win over Brescia on November 24, the defender was also instrumental in ensuring that his team kept a clean sheet, statistics from the Roma official website indicating that he won the most aerial duels (7), made the most interceptions (5) and recorded a 96% passing accuracy. He could have stayed in Manchester and been paid every week and stayed at home with his baby and dogs. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. He could handle criticism of his performances, but he didn’t like it when it became personal from people who didn’t know him. Roma. "It's not easy for English central defenders to adapt so quickly to Italian football, the record there isn't good. An English defender who’s almost 30 years old with zero experience outside England? Indeed, the Manchester United loanee became the first Englishman to provide two assists for a Serie A side since David Beckham did so for AC Milan during the 2008/09 campaign. Just when things seem to be falling into place for Roma's new home in Tor di Valle, could Friedkin change course? Anything other than a win would mean that Canada will advance to the semifinals, a shocking result for the U.S. With the action in Italy heating up both on and off the field, it’s time to get you caught up with what’s been happening in the world of Serie A and, as always, “10 Things” is here to bring you right up to date. After all, his goal to open the scoring against Brescia, a smart header from an outswinging corner by Lorenzo Pellegrini, saw him make history. Roma would steal one of Atalanta’s most valuable assets and weaken their CL rival? He was antique and the others were shiny new toy to play with.