United Agree Terms with Chris Smalling

[Noucamp99]

United have agreed terms with Fulham to sign their England Under-21 international defender Chris Smalling.

The 20-year-old Greenwich-born centre-back will join the Reds from the start of the 2010/11 season.

A club spokesperson told ManUtd.com: "Manchester United has agreed terms for the transfer of Chris Smalling from Fulham. Chris has agreed personal terms with the club and will join for the beginning of the 2010/2011 campaign. He will remain at Fulham until the end of the current season."

An England Under-21 international, Smalling has made just nine first-team appearances for Fulham, who signed him from non-league Maidstone 18 months ago.

After shining in the club’s Reserves, Roy Hodgson handed him his senior debut on the final day of the 2008/09 season. His first start came in September 2009 when Fulham travelled to CSKA Sofia in the UEFA Cup, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw. Hodgson said: “If you analysed his performance, he played with a maturity I'm not entitled to expect from a player so young.”

Smalling earned an England U21 debut in November last year and a first league start, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, six weeks later.

Source: manutd.com

I don't know a great deal about this young lad, but must have done something to appear on the radar...

[RambleOnRed]

Ah so its official now. We could do with his height, he looked very impressive against Chelsea, own goal aside that is

Hope we get Chiellini in the summer too or am I being too greedy ...........

[Vazza]

he can be ths next Rio ferdinand... by pundits!

but Poor wenger he missed another one!
7million ? but saf trust him much like vidic and evra!
we expect bigthing from samlling

[Bennthered]

if we can keep hold of vidic and rio the defence should be no problem next season now all we need is a creative midfielder

[Noucamp99]

Manchester United have confirmed that Chris Smalling will join the club on a four-year contract this summer, after passing his medical on Thursday.

The Red Devils won the race to land the highly-rated defender on Tuesday, edging out arch-rivals Arsenal who had also been chasing the 20-year-old.

The England U21 international will see out the remainder of the 2009/10 campaign at Craven Cottage, before heading to Old Trafford in July.

United are hoping Smalling will become an integral part of their first-team plans for years to come and are delighted to have secured the youngster's services.

It has taken the cultured centre-half just nine senior appearances to earn his switch to the Theatre of Dreams, as he was playing non-league football with Maidstone as recently as 2008.

He will now be hoping that the opportunity to work alongside seasoned internationals, such as Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, will further aid his development.

"Chris is an extremely talented young defender, who we have been monitoring for some months," Sir Alex Ferguson told United's official website.

"He is very quick and reads the game well. He will be a great asset to the club, playing alongside some of the best defenders around and we are delighted to have secured his signature."

Smalling added: "Joining Manchester United is an unbelievable opportunity for me.

"My time at Fulham has been great and I have learned a lot about the game from Roy Hodgson and the coaching staff.

"But the chance of coming to the biggest club in the world is something I just couldn't turn down.

"I am excited about working with Sir Alex and the fantastic players in his squad."

Source: skysports.com

[Phil-M.U.F.C.]

Yeah looks like Fergie has big plans for Smalling.

[Noucamp99]

Smalling scored at the weekend. Shame it was in his own net!!

Anyway...

Chris Smalling claims Sir Alex Ferguson has assured him he will be a contender for a starting berth at Manchester United.

The 20-year-old signed for the Red Devils in January and is set to complete an £8million move over the summer.

The youngster has taken the fast track to Old Trafford, with United having snapped him up after just seven senior appearances.

He is, however, tipped for a bright future in the game and Ferguson believes he is getting full value for money.

The United boss has every intention of using Smalling from the off, with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic suffering with niggling knocks of late, and is confident he will step up to the plate.

Pressure
Smalling is delighted to hear that his new boss has complete faith in his ability and is determined to show why he is so highly rated.

"I'll definitely be starting on the front foot in terms of a first-team place," he told the Fulham Chronicle.

"Sir Alex sat me down and explained where I am and where I'll be going.

"You start off the season just hoping to get as many games as you can and then you get an opportunity like this, and yeah, it does bring pressure.

"But it's a compliment and a chance to show what you are worth, and hopefully I can repay it."

Source: skysports.com