Manchester United misfit Smalling's shock emergence as Serie A's star defender

By the time his eight-year spell at Manchester United had come to an end - albeit only temporarily as things stand - Chris Smalling had become something of a laughing stock at Old Trafford.

To say that the former England international's time in Manchester had its ups and downs would be an understatement. Signed from Fulham in 2010 having made just nine Premier League starts, his arrival didn't really catch the eye and whilst showing some promise at such a young age in his first season at the club, neither did his performances for quite some time.

Many felt that the international recognition he received early on in his career was as a result of 'big club bias', and in that regard Smalling was lumped in with compatriot Phil Jones as something of a comedy double act. While the latter was often on hand to provide a humourous moment in any match, Smalling was perhaps harshly criticised at times.

The former United defender was guilty of committing more costly errors than he perhaps should, but by the time of Louis van Gaal's reign at the club, Smalling was becoming an increasingly important player. The fact that the Dutchman still couldn't get his centre-back's name right - referring to Smalling as Mike - only served as another detractor to what was an impressive run of form at the time.

When Jose Mourinho took to the Old Trafford hot seat Smalling was regularly donning the captain's armband. However, foot and knee injuries either side of the New Year in 2017 ensured the defender started just 13 league matches in the Portuguese's first season at the club.

Smalling returned to the side on a regular basis the following season but in the 2018/19 campaign his form nosedived and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - along with England boss Gareth Southgate - lost faith in the former Fulham man. There were numerous links to relatively middling Premier League clubs, which made it even more eye-catching when Smalling instead made the move to Italy, joining Roma on loan.

Serving as a replacement for the outbound Kostas Manolas, the reaction to the signing from England was one of surprise and, in many cases, ridicule.

He may only be six league games into his spell in the Italian capital but for the moment, Smalling looks totally rejuvenated and Roma's decision to sign him is being vindicated with every passing game. The 29-year-old scored his first goal for his new club in a 4-0 rout over Udinese in midweek in what was the latest of a string of composed performances.

The United loanee has been dominant in the air at the back, winning the most aerial duels per game (5.5) in Serie A by a distance at a commanding 71.7 per cent success rate. He might not be at Virgil van Dijk's level just yet, but Smalling is also yet to be dribbled past in Italy's top-flight either.

Meanwhile, while Southgate has alluded to the fact that Smalling doesn't possess the ball-playing ability to fit his system at international level, the Englishman is also proving that theory wrong. A pass accuracy of 91.5 per cent is enough to rank eighth in Serie A and comfortably Smalling's highest in a single league season to date.

As a consequence, the former butt of many a Manchester United joke is now the top rated centre-back in Serie A (7.45 WhoScored.com rating). This weekend Smalling will be his toughest test yet and a chance for him to pit his talents up against arguably the most well regarded defender in Italy in Kalidou Koulibaly.

Comparisons between the two would have been laughed at in recent years but, on current form, aren't so outlandish. The Manchester United misfit approaches Roma's clash against Napoli at the top of his game. Just how long he can keep it that way is the real question having had peaks of impressive form in the past but for the time being at least Chris Smalling deserves praise, which is something he hasn't had in a long while.