Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has hailed Chris Smalling’s impact since signing from Manchester United. “He’s a great player and very important.”
Smalling has quickly established himself in Roma’s defence and scored his first goal for the club midweek during the 4-0 win at Udinese.
Although the Giallorossi do not have option to make his loan permanent, talks are ongoing over a permanent deal for the United player.
Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has hailed Chris Smalling’s impact since signing from Manchester United. “He’s a great player and very important.”
Smalling has quickly established himself in Roma’s defence and scored his first goal for the club midweek during the 4-0 win at Udinese.
Although the Giallorossi do not have option to make his loan permanent, talks are ongoing over a permanent deal for the United player.
“Petrachi is very present. He’s really demanding and having him around the team is a big positive. He talks to us every day and that’s important,” Fonseca said at a Press conference.
“Petrachi was the first person who told me about the possibility of bringing Smalling to the club.
“Chris has settled in completely now and he is playing well. He’s a great player and very important to the team.”
Leonardo Spinazzola and Juan Jesus missed the trip to Udine, but the stoppers could be set to return against Napoli tomorrow.
“Spinazzola and Juan Jesus are ready. It was my decision not to play Spinazzola against Udinese. Both are available.
“The most important thing for me is the way we approach games. If we adopt the same approach as in our last two matches, we’ll have a better chance of winning and challenging.
“Cetin is a good lad. He’s learning every day and he could feature. Pastore’s situation is very clear to me – it all depends on his fitness.
“He’s in good shape and playing well. We don’t have many alternatives at the moment.”
Napoli counterpart Carlo Ancelotti will not be in his dugout at the Olimpico as it stands due to a touchline ban…
“He’s a great Coach, he’s won things at big teams with so much quality. I respect Ancelotti very much, he’s a sincere and honest man. I hope he’s on the pitch tomorrow.
“I won’t comment on De Laurentiis’ words. It’s the opinion of a President I respect. We’ve seen many mistakes, but no-one would want to make mistakes on the field.
“At the end of the match tomorrow, I expect not to have to talk about the referee.”