Patrick Rees
Manchester United are all set to let Chris Smalling leave the club with Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion looking like a possible destination, report the Daily Star.
The 27-year-old Three-Lion star has fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho and has not really impressed the Portuguese tactician with his performances. To add further to it, his injury woes and his inconsistency has been a major let down last season. This followed up Mourinho criticizing his commitment on the field, saying that “you have to do anything for the team.”
West Brom’s interest in Smalling isn’t something of a shocker as they were keen on landing him last summer as well, but Mourinho was reluctant on letting any of his stars leave. This time around, however, West Brom have the likes of Leicester City, Stoke City and Crystal Palace in the chase. While Leicester may drop down their interest eventually, having acquired Harry Maguire recently, Crystal Palace would be keen on landing a centre-back after failing in their attempt to sign Mamadou Sakho.
West Brom, a team known for its strong defensive lineup would do a world of good with the services of the former Fulham defender.
With Manchester United having a lot of options for the centre-back spot, it is quite rightly expected that United will not budge a lot in accepting Baggies’ offer for the defender. A £10 million bid, however, might not be enough given the fact that Smalling is a Premier League veteran and on his day, he is the one to beat.
Mourinho already has Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, young Axel Tuanzebe, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo (who is expected to miss the first half of the season) just for the centre-back spot, hence, the departure of Smalling might well not affect the squad in any way.
