Chris Smalling may have struggled at Manchester United but during his loan with AS Roma, he looked like a player reborn.
He dominated the backline for the Italian club and there were rumours of a permanent transfer. However, Smalling has returned to United even as his future remains uncertain.
With the Red Devils in dire need of adding depth to the squad ahead of the new campaign, here are 3 ideal swap deals involving the centre-back:
1. Smalling for Skriniar
We've been linked with Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar in the past and he would be an excellent addition to our squad.
Victor Lindelof is far too inconsistent to partner Harry Maguire while Eric Bailly is injury-prone. That doesn't leave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with many choices but using Smalling to sign Skriniar would be a great move to boost our defensive depth.
2. Smalling for Koulibaly
Another centre-back on the list, Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly has also been linked with us in the past.
The 29-year-old is aggressive, fast and would be a great partner for Maguire simply because his style of play is quite different from the United captain. In a way, signing Koulibaly would bring so much more to the table while Smalling gets to go the other way and start his career afresh.
3. Smalling for Zaniolo
Roma were unable to cough up United's £17million asking price for Smalling but there's no reason why a swap deal wouldn't work.
We've been linked with signing Jack Grealish and Donny van de Beek but Nicolo Zaniolo would also be a great choice.
We need a back-up for Bruno Fernandes and Zaniolo is worth considering, especially since he scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists for Roma last season. He's a promising long-term prospect as well, thus making him ideal for our current needs.
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