Rome, ready for a two-year downwards for Smalling. Inter lurking

After all, the past can always teach us something. If the Mkhitaryan case, last season, had had a melancholy conclusion with the farewell of the Armenian and the subsequent public regret of José Mourinho, regarding Chris Smalling, Roma have decided to follow another path: extreme clarity even before the game comes alive.

history

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The story is known. The 33-year-old English defender’s contract will expire in June, but in the current agreement he has a clause which allows him, reaching half of his season’s appearances, to unilaterally trigger a renewal for another season. In short, a form of option very similar to the one Mkhitaryan had. In light of the extraordinary performances of Smalling, who earns around 3.5 million net plus bonuses, the yellow and red club would be happy to extend his contract until 2024 with the same salary, also because Chris has already reached twenty appearances and therefore could reach the goal already in winter. Indeed, the managers have done more, because they have submitted a proposal for an agreement for a good two years, until 2025, even if with a reduced salary compared to the current one. All of this, if the player wanted, doing it immediately, that is, without even waiting for the clause to come into force. Moral: everything would seem to be sliding towards a new marriage, but naturally the defender’s performances have once again turned the spotlight on him both in the Premier League (where he boasts important admirers who would have even wanted him in the World Cup), and in Serie A itself.

monetize

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In fact, there had already been talk of an interest from Inter, to which it was offered by the player’s agent. Of course, this will probably be the last important contract of his career for the Englishman and he would like to monetize it as best as possible, but Roma have already informed him that the lineup will not change. Moral: the club has no intention of participating in any form of auction. The two proposals are those formulated and those will remain. Therefore, at the latest a couple of months after Smalling has reached the attendance quota that would allow him to trigger the renewal, if the defender does not receive the consent to the renewal, Roma will feel free to follow other paths, because upward negotiations he will not do it, also because from Trigoria they underline how the club has always been particularly close to the defender even in the several weeks in which he has been injured in recent years. In short, that of the Giallorossi club is not an ultimatum, but a warning to market navigators and to the player himself. Roma want to continue with Smalling, but it takes two to celebrate the wedding. And without being too venal.