Bharath Rammr
Chris Smalling was at the centre of a Manchester United storm, as manager José Mourinho uncharacteristically criticised the defender in public. Always known as a manager who stands by his players, Mourinho questioned the commitment of the England international after the 3-1 win against Swansea. Almost immediately, he was linked with moves elsewhere. His contractual situation may be partly down to the transfer rumours. Smalling has just over two years left on his contract, which expires in the summer of 2019.
Despite the controversial statements by Mourinho, it seems that Smalling remains integral to the plans of the Portuguese and the Sun has claimed that the defender will be offered a new contract to extend his spell at the club.
Smalling has been at United since 2010 when he arrived from Fulham. He was never seen as someone who could establish himself ahead of Phil Jones, who had cost twice the figure. Further, the versatility of Jones also made him a likely contender to get a place in the first team that Smalling, who had to overcome Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Yet, the defender, now 26, has made incredible progress to the extent where he is now one of the England regulars.
It may be a few more weeks before Smalling gets to prove his commitment to Mourinho. The comments made by the Portuguese quickly became ill-timed as Smalling was ruled out for the next four weeks with a broken toe. Mourinho claimed after the 3-1 win over Swansea that players like Smalling and Luke Shaw were not prepared to play through the pain barrier.
Apart from missing the last two international games for England, Smalling was unavailable for the game against Arsenal during the weekend. United continued with the makeshift centre-back combination of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, although they performed admirably to earn the club a 1-1 draw. It was almost a clean sheet and a win for United had it not been for the late equaliser from Olivier Giroud.
Rojo has certainly impressed Mourinho since managing to appear in the first team in recent weeks. His presence in the first team may have been down to first-team regulars being unavailable, but the Argentine has truly grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Apart from the game against Fenerbahce where he was decent, Rojo has put in some impressive performances. He comfortably outshined Jones especially when it comes to winning aerial duels.
Smalling has started five league matches and made a further two substitute appearances so far this season.
