Chris Smalling
Details are a little sketchy at the moment but I understand that Fulham defender Chris Smalling has signed for United but will not officially come on board until the 2010/11 Season.
Presumably, this means that he continues to play for Fulham in the meantime in some sort of loan arrangement so that he can get some more experience under his belt before joining us (although some mischievous people are suggesting that we don’t actually have the money at this present moment and will only be able to purchase him properly when we get the money from the sale of Vidic!)
On paper, we look to have a decent set of defenders already at the club but this season in particular has highlighted just how easily Fergie can find himself scraping the bottom of the barrel. Even last season, Fergie found himself forced into juggling the defensive line-up almost game after game at one point.
Rio’s long-term fitness remains a doubt as the injuries seem to becoming more and more frequent in recent years and the rumours of Vidic’s departure just won’t go away.
This looks a canny purchase by Fergie (details of the fee have yet to be released, however) and it could be that with Smalling and Evans, we have a defensive partnership to step into Rio and Vida’ shoes when the time comes and take us forward for many years to come… fingers crossed.