Chris Smalling’s wife Sam highlighted that the Roma defender has been the ‘highest-performing English centre-back’ this season after he was snubbed from the Three Lions World Cup squad.
The ex-Manchester United centre-back hasn’t played for his country since 2017, so not many expected him to feature in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad for Qatar 2022.
Nevertheless, the English centre-back has been a regular starter at the Stadio Olimpico under José Mourinho and his performances would have justified a spot in the Three Lions squad.
As highlighted by Opta, Smalling has been the highest-performing English central defender in Europe this term, based on their Index scoring system (76.3/100).
His wife Sam shared Opta’s Instagram post in his stories highlighting his husband’s achievement and adding that she ‘could not be more proud.’
Smalling, 32, joined Roma in 2019 and has scored three goals in 20 appearances across all competitions this season.
