Chris Smalling close to joining FC Porto | OneFootball

Chris Smalling has joined FC Porto on a free transfer after two seasons with Saudi Arabian side Al-Fayha. The English centre-back, capped 31 times by his national team, ended his spell with the Saudi club before heading to the Dragons.

According to Maisfutebol, the player is already in Porto and is expected to undergo the usual medical and fitness tests in the coming hours. This will be followed by the signing of his contract, which should run until the end of the current season.

Developed at Millwall and Maidstone United, Smalling moved to Fulham in 2008/09. He later played for Manchester United between 2010 and 2019, before wearing the Roma shirt, a club he represented from 2019 to 2024. He then moved to Al-Fayha.

The centre-back arrives to give Francesco Farioli more options in the heart of defence, where he will compete with Jan Bednarek and Jakub Kiwior, much like what happened last season with the signing of the experienced Thiago Silva. For the same position, the FC Porto coach can also call on Nehuén Pérez, who has meanwhile been hampered by a new injury after recovering from a lengthy spell out, and Dominik Prpic, the Croatian defender who has been used by the B team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.