Why Chris Smalling left Manchester United to join Roma on loan
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The England international is doing really great at his new club.

Now Manchester United loanee Chris Smalling reveals why he left club for Serie A this summer.

Manchester United offloaded several players this summer in order to rebuild their squad. One such player was Chris Smalling, who was sent to Roma on loan.

The Englishman is enjoying his stay in Italy so far and is statistically one of the better defenders in the league. He has now revealed why he chose to step out of his comfort zone and move to Italy. In an interview with The Athletic, he revealed how the move came to be.

“I was in constant dialogue with Solskjaer and he told me that I would play a fair amount of games. I would have played 20-25 games, maybe more, but then Roma made their offer. It was put to me and I felt I could play 40-50 games with Roma, maybe twice what I would play at United.”

The Englishman continues to say that he could have easily stayed at Old Trafford this season. However, he chose to dive into the Roman challenge instead in order to play more.

“I could have picked up my wages, I have just become a father to a little boy of five months, I was settled in Manchester with my family. Coming to Rome was a challenge that I liked, a big club with big expectations.

“The manager doesn’t just want to get back in the top four, he wants to win a trophy. Roma have had some great Champions League nights recently, but the Europa League is important here this season.”

“I spoke to Roma manager Paulo Fonseca and he explained that he needed a centre back with the attributes I had. No player can be guaranteed to play every game, but I knew that if I was fit and performing then I would be able to play regularly. I’ve done that and the reaction from the coaching staff and the fans has lifted my confidence.”

Smalling scored his first goal for Roma in their recent match against Udinese. The Italian giants lost Federico Fazio to a red card early on but still went on to secure a 4-0 win.

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