Manchester United Transfer News: AS Roma agree season-long loan deal for Chris Smalling

According to Fabrizio Romano, AS Roma have agreed a season-long loan deal with Manchester United for Chris Smalling.

The out of favor center-half will spend the season on loan in Rome and it has been confirmed that the Italian club have no option to purchase the player upon expiry of his loan deal.

Roma will pay the English club a fee of €3 million and the Englishman has agreed terms to join the Italian club on a season-long loan deal.

Smalling has fallen down the pecking order after Harry Maguire's world-record move to Old Trafford this summer and the former Fulham man has agreed terms to facilitate a temporary move away from the club.

The likes of Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones and Marcus Rojo are at the club currently, which has forced Smalling to re-evaluate his options in recent days.

Despite featuring regularly in pre-season, the Englishman has failed to make the match-day squad for Manchester United in their three Premier League outings this season, a clear indication of his position at the club currently.

The 29-year-old joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2010 and has gone on to make over 200 appearances for the club, winning five major honors.

After losing Kostas Manolas to Napoli this summer, Roma courted the likes of Daniele Rugani and Dejan Lovren to fill the void left by the Greek defender but the moves failed to materialize.

With the transfer window set to conclude in the coming days, Roma have moved quickly to acquire his services and the official announcement is expected imminently.

Smalling looks set to become the second Manchester United player to join an Italian club on loan this week after Alexis Sanchez sealed a move to Inter on a one-year deal.

The record English champions were reportedly in the market for free agent Fernando Llorente but at this stage, it is unlikely that the club will make a move for the Spaniard.