Chris Smailling's unpredictable future at Old Trafford
In the Europa League final against Ajax Armsterdam, coach Mourinho named Smalling as the starting goalkeeper from the start and the result was that M.U won the most important match of the season. At first glance, it seems that the "Special One" still approves Smailling after a series of poor performances since the beginning of the season, but the story here is not that simple.
The biggest obstacle to Smalling in many years, since Sir Alex's time, is that he is too "slow to get big". There was a time when M.U coaches after Sir Alex gave the captain's armband to the English midfielder for a long time. However, from a rotile player before, Smailling has only changed to the definition that the British media described as "the grown boy".
Another factor that plagued Smalling's career was his many injuries. Since 2013, Smalling has been around bedside or watching teammates compete at least twice a season. For someone who is not adventurous and impatient like Mourinho, "sick soldiers" like Smalling will absolutely have no place to stand.
M.U already has Bailly and Lindelof, Smailling's starting position is considered no longer available and now the 27-year-old center back needs to go further. If he stays at M.U and is a reserve, the opportunity to be in the "Three Lions" squad for the 2018 World Cup is almost gone and will smiling be still useful for England if he is still constantly injured like this?
Therefore, choosing another destination will be a more feasible option for Smailling. However, those other destination cities will not be the top clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool in England or in other tournaments such as PSG, Real, Barca, ... If they are not allowed to play at big clubs, Smailling's ability to have titles and play in the European Cup will no longer exist.
Phil Jones still has some hope
Among the 6 defenders that the M.U first team currently has, Phil Jones is still showing his confidence despite not appearing much last season.
In Mourinho's eyes now, Jones is still "scored" slightly more than Smailling and if he needs a reserve for the Bailly-Lindelof duo, the "Special One" will choose Jones. But Jones's problem is not much different from Smalling, that is, if he is on the bench, will he have a future at the National Assembly?
Unlike Smalling, Jones is receiving offers from six of the Premier League's top clubs last year. Of these, the two Merseyside teams Liverpool and Everton have opened up to M.U. If he feels it is unnecessary to immediately have a true reserve plan for the Bailly-Lindelof pair, Mourinho will sit down with Jones to negotiate.
