Arsenal hold an interest in Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, currently on loan with AS Roma, according to reports in Italy.

If you thought the Chris Smalling to Arsenal rumours would’ve died by 2020, you thought wrong. According to Gazzetta.it, Roma are keen to sign the defender on a permanent deal. However, they face competition for Smalling from Everton, Arsenal and Spurs in the Premier League.

The Serie A club know it will be difficult to secure the player’s signature unless they qualify for the Champions League, which might be the one way they can get an advantage over the English clubs above.

United reportedly want £25m for the 30-year-old, which is a bit of an ask. Smalling and Roma had a great start to the season, but they’re now on a run of 11 league games with just one clean sheet, conceding two or more in four of their last five.

All the same, Smalling is still mostly drawing praise over in Italy. He’s up to 28 appearances for the season, starting whenever he’s fit. It really wouldn’t surprise me to see Roma pushing to sign him permanently. As for Arsenal, I still need convincing on that one.