Roma defender Chris Smalling is set to make his 28th appearance of the season in tonight’s Serie A fixture with Empoli.
The Englishman will therefore have completed 50% of all season appearances, which will in turn automatically trigger the option in his contract to extend his stay in the Italian capital for a further year, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.
In an attempt to anticipate the dangers from potentially interested clubs, Roma have offered Smalling another two-year contract with salary figures slightly lower than the current ones.
The ex-Man United centreback has taken time to reflect on this proposal, but Jose Mourinho sounded optimistic about Smalling’s stay in his most recent press conference.
