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Newcastle United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign English defender Chris Smalling from Premier League top-four club Manchester United.

According to the Chronicle, the Magpies have been given the chance to sign the 30-year-old this summer and have been looking at him, but it remains to be seen if they are in the financial position to pull it off.

It is understood that there is a £20million price tag on the centre-back’s head and that has seen Roma pull out of the race for him, despite the fact he enjoyed a successful loan spell with them last season in Italy.

The report explains that Smalling’s ex-club Fulham are also keen on his signature and he may be prepared to take a cut on his current £130,000-a-week salary.

The Chronicle’s report has further stated that Newcastle centre-back Florian Lejeune is attracting interest from teams in France, so Smalling has been offered to them as a possible replacement for him.

TRB’s View:

Lejeune, 29, has proven at St James’ Park that on his day he’s a top quality centre-back that deserves to be in the Newcastle XI, but his career has been plagued by injury problems and with two years left on his deal it could be a good time to cash in.

Smalling has proven during the last 12 months at Roma that he remains a quality centre-back with his impressive displays in Serie A, as he’s someone that is composed on the ball and a real enforcer at the back with his aerial presence.

He is an experienced 30-year-old that Man United are willing to offload and would represent a great signing at £20million for any Premier League side, so Newcastle fans should have their fingers crossed that they can fork up the transfer fee.