Manchester United outcast Smalling joins Roma on loan

London, Aug 30: Roma have signed Chris Smalling on a season-long loan from Manchester United, the Serie A club announced.

Smalling signed a contract extension at Old Trafford running until 2022 last December, three days before then-manager Jose Mourinho was sacked.

The 29-year-old continued to feature under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but the arrival of Harry Maguire during the close season left him down the pecking order at centre-back.

He has consequently opted for a temporary move to Roma, who paid United €3million (£2.7m) to seal the deal.

"This is the perfect opportunity for me," Smalling said in a statement.

"The chance to experience a new league, with a big team that has got big aspirations is exactly what I needed.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💯 Official: Chris Smalling has joined Roma on loan 💪

This summer #ASRoma is using transfer announcements to help support charities like @MissingKids and @missingpeople in the search for missing children around the world. pic.twitter.com/xSGZWehhVE

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) August 30, 2019

"Hopefully I can hit the ground running. I'm looking forward to joining up with my team-mates."

Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi added: "We are pleased to bring a player like Chris, who has so much experience, to Roma. We are convinced he will help the growth of this squad and all the lads he plays alongside."