Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praises Chris Smalling as player's loan deal with Roma ends
Aug 04, 2020
Manchester [UK], Aug 4 : After Chris Smalling's loan deal with AS Roma ended, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised the defender and emphasized on his value.
"I think Chris has shown, over his career at Manchester United, how valuable he is for United. This season was about him being a regular and going to Roma, showing and proving how good a centre-back he is," the club's official website quoted Solskjaer as saying.
"I wanted to give Harry [Maguire] and Victor [Lindelof] and maybe Axel [Tuanzebe] a chance and so he found out that it was best for him to go to Roma to play for a year. Now he's coming back. Chris has shown this season that he will be valuable so I've been speaking to Chris throughout and been delighted with his season," he added.
In total, the 30-year-old made 30 league appearances in 2019/20, scoring three times. Earlier in the day, Smalling said he is "gutted" for not being able to complete AS Roma's Europa League campaign.
Smalling took to Twitter and wrote, "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. I want to thank and wish all the players and staff the best of luck against Sevilla. DAJE ROMA!"
