Arsenal have apparently enquired about the availability of Chris Smalling, but would he be an upgrade on our current options?
The Manchester United defender is believed to have been a target of ours prior to joining the Red Devils from Fulham back in 2010, and we have been linked with him on numerous occasions since.
We are currently claimed to be eyeing a deal to sign one of Smalling or former Red Devil Jonny Evans this month in order to bring stability to our shaky defence, but I’m not sure the former would bring much of an upgrade at all.
We have endured problems at the back this term, with main defender Laurent Koscielny struggling with injury, as well as Shkodran Mustafi also missing a number of matches, and the likes of Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal and a 33 year-old Per Mertesacker have been left to fill the void.
We are now keen to add another defender to our ranks in order to bring stability and experience to our centre halve area, and while Smalling has more experience than the likes of Chambers and Holding, I’m not sure he would bring the stability needed.
Jose Mourinho is known for his defensive system, and ‘parking the bus’ is a term used for his style of play on a number of occasions, and I believe that is a strong reason why they have managed to keep from conceding heavily this term, and I’m not sure Smalling would suit our game, nor do I believe he would be the defender to form our defence around.
Would the United CB walk into our starting XI? Is he good enough to base our defence around for the next four years?
Pat J