Fulham defender Smalling: Difficult rejecting Arsenal for Man Utd

Fulham defender Chris Smalling admits it was difficult choosing Manchester United ahead of boyhood idols Arsenal.

Arsenal wanted him and it was a wrench to turn them down because he is a fan, but he has a similar “gut instinct” about United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to the one that drew him to Roy Hodgson.

In Smalling’s speed, ability on the ball and lean 6ft 4in frame, Ferguson sees something of Rio Ferdinand, and clinched the signing by travelling to sweet-talk after he played at White Hart Lane.

Smalling told the Sunday Times: “I was nervous, thinking, do you say ‘Alex’ or ‘Sir Alex’, but he quickly got the conversation going. It did feel a bit unreal. A man who’s produced so many players and won so many trophies is sitting there talking to me. I never thought that would happen when I was at Maidstone, or even a year ago in Fulham’s reserves.”

He knows that “no doubt there’ll be pressure because of my fee but when you get to the higher levels of the game, pressure is something you have to face and I’m just getting it younger than some. Hopefully by training and playing with those players [at United] I’ll learn how to handle it. My approach is I go there as a new player and need to get to know the staff and what they want, and the price tag will go to the back of my mind.”