Chris Smalling will leave Roma after five years and head to Saudi Arabia, more precisely to Al-Fayha. He took part in the trip to Turin for the Juventus game, but his transfer had already been sealed. He’ll take the medicals on Monday, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
He’ll sign a two-year contract with his new team and earn €6M annually. The Giallorossi director Florent Ghisolfi made it his mission to rid the books of all the highest salaries. The only residual one is Paulo Dybala’s. Tammy Abraham, Rick Karsdorp, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Houssem Aouar all left.
Smalling joined Roma from Manchester United in 2019 and has racked up 155 appearances, scoring 10 goals. However, he was hampered by continuous injuries last season and never recaptured his best form. The team moved on from him as a regular starter once Evan N’Dicka settled in.
The Giallorossi will sign Mario Hermoso as a replacement. He’ll ink a three-year contract with €4.5M wages. They might not be done, though. They are in touch with Mats Hummels. The capital club tendered a seasonal deal with a €3M salary, but he’d like a longer one.
Our Take on Roma and Smalling
They went into extra time to find a solution, and the sum they’ll cash in will be negligible, but he no longer was a reliable contributor. Despite snapping up Hermoso, who’s solid but not elite and another lefty, they could use another man. What happened with Kevin Danso was unusual and beyond their control, while it’s unclear why they waffled on Tiago Djaló. They should have produced a better effort while the pool was wider.
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