‘Smalling wants to come back to Roma’ – Fonseca hoping to see deal done with Man Utd

Chris Smalling “wants to come back to Roma”, according to Paulo Fonseca, with the Serie A outfit exploring the option of putting another deal in place with Manchester United.

The England international defender spent the 2019-20 campaign on loan at Stadio Olimpico.

He impressed many during his time in Italy and left the door open for a permanent switch to be made when forced to return to Old Trafford.

Roma have made no secret of the fact that they would welcome the 30-year-old centre-half back onto their books.

United allowed Smalling to move on initially because he had started to slip down their defensive pecking order.

That situation is unlikely to have changed, amid calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to further bolster his ranks, and Fonseca hopes an agreement can be reached before the next deadline passes.

The Roma boss told reporters: “I am in regular contact with Chris Smalling, I spoke to him yesterday.

“He wants to come back to Roma and we want to have him back. I think that there could be an update over the next few days.”

Goal learned in early September that Roma had put a €12 million (£11m/$14m) offer on the table for Smalling.

That move was made after seeing the experienced defender state on social media after his initial loan deal came to a close: “I’m gutted that I can’t finish what we started this season. To experience the love shown to me in such a short time was extra special and it will not be forgotten.”

Another deal could now be in the pipeline, but departures are also on the cards at Roma.

Star striker Edin Dzeko has emerged as a top target for Juventus, with the Serie A champions switching their attention to the Bosnian after shelving interest in Barcelona frontman Luis Suarez.

No sale has been sanctioned as yet, though, and the 34-year-old will form part of Fonseca’s plans for a season opener against Verona on Saturday.

He said: “Tomorrow Edin Dzeko will be in Verona with us for the match.”

It was revealed to Goal on Thursday that Dzeko is set to sign a two-year contract with Juventus as they seek to add another proven goalscorer to their ranks.