West Brom interested in Manchester United’s Chris Smalling
By Rayna Sidhu
The defender may leave Manchester United this summer with West Brom leading the charge on potentially swooping him up.
Chris Smalling was a favoured defender at Manchester United, making 35 appearances in the 2015/16 season. But the introduction of Jose Mourinho saw him slip down the pecking order, only making 13 league appearances last season. Both Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind are his competition, with the manager usually choosing them over the Englishman.
To add to the competition in defence, Manchester United completed the signing of Victor Lindelof from Benfica this summer. Lindelof is a player similar to Smalling in that he can play both centrally and on the right. But he arguably has the edge, as he is six years younger, which adds to his pace.
This means that Smalling may well be now even further down the list for Jose Mourinho, fuelling rumours that other clubs are interested in taking him. West Brom are first on the scene and are supposedly preparing a £10 million bid.
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West Brom’s transfer window has been quiet. They have so far only completed the signings of Jay Rodriguez from Southampton for £12 million. The 27 year-old striker is a good start for Tony Pulis’ team, but they would benefit from more reinforcements. They have also bought Chinese yongester Zhang Yuning for an undisclosed fee, who has already been loaned out to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on a two-year deal.
Most of their summer has been spent trying to make a deal with Arsenal for Kieran Gibbs, with no luck. They were also in preliminary talks with Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, who then joined Stoke on a one-year loan. As they turn their attention to Smalling, it becomes clear that defence is where the club wants to strengthen.
Here begins a tough decision for Smalling if West Brom go ahead with the bid. A lot of fans would call him foolish for giving up the chance to play at one of the biggest clubs in the country under a great manager. But equally, he needs to play regularly in order to develop. As the World Cup is next summer, he will want an England call-up, which can only happen if he is playing enough at club level.
Manchester United are in the Champions League this season, which could allow Mourinho to rotate his squad and give Smalling the game-time he wants. But unless that is near enough guaranteed, it’s understandable for him to want to play elsewhere.
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As things stand, Smalling’s thoughts on the issue are unknown. Once West Brom pursue him, his stance will become clearer. It may be a difficult choice, but at still a peak age, he must make the best decision for his own career – whatever that may be.