Player Focus: How Chris Smalling's Impressive Form is Now the Norm

Amid all the chuntering about Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, there has been one undeniable positive: he has elevated Chris Smalling into the sort of player he looked like he might become when he moved to Old Trafford from Fulham in 2010. There was a time when the announcement that he was the sponsor’s man of the match at an England game would have been greeted with mystified shrugs. Not on Tuesday, though: this was another extremely good display in what has been a year of them.

Slowly the thought is emerging that England may no be so ill-stocked at centre-back than it had appeared. This might not be the riches of, say Euro 2004, when England had John Terry, Sol Campbell, Ledley King and Jamie Carragher in the squad and Rio Ferdinand absent because of his missed drugs test, but the situation looks a lot healthier than it did a year or two ago.

Gary Cahill may not be quite as solid as he was – and you wonder how long he will have to keep wearing the mask that protects a nose he broke in pre-season (and damaged again against Manchester City three weeks ago) – but he remains a high-class defender playing at the highest level. John Stones reads the game superbly and combines that with physical presence – and could yet end up partnering Cahill at club level. Phil Jones is still only 23 and may yet deliver on his potential if he can stay injury free. Phil Jagielka is reliable enough. And Calum Chambers is only 20, even if his potential is some way from being realised.

But, slightly surprisingly, it is Smalling, a player who once seemed a byword for that English habit of going to a big club and sitting on the bench – he’s still never played more than 21 league games in a season – who has emerged as the leader. There was one moment at Wembley that provoked some consternation, as Xherdan Shaqiri got in behind the England defence with 19 minutes remaining and Smalling brought him down to be booked. Even then, though, it wasn’t clear whether he should be criticised for his clumsiness or praised for having got back to stifle the danger.

What was notable against Switzerland was how effective England’s offside trap – that moment excepted – was. Perhaps the Swiss were particularly dozy, but England caught them six times – an encouraging sign of cohesion at the back. Exactly how big a role Smalling plays in that is almost impossible to tell from the outside, but it is clear that he has become a more vocal player under Van Gaal.

He’s 25 now and seemingly growing into his responsibilities. Injuries didn’t help his development, of course, but it’s notable how his WhoScored.com rating has improved, from 6.8-7 in his first three seasons at the club to 7.16 under David Moyes and 7.34 in Van Gaal’s first season. Four games into this season, he’s averaging 7.57 in the league, earning a place in WhoScored’s Premier League team of the month in the process.

His passing has shown a notable improvement, not so much in terms of pass completion, although the trend there is up, but in terms of passes per game. Smalling, partly because of the possession-based game demanded by Van Gaal is on the ball more, has become more involved.

There’s been a big leap in the number of interceptions he’s made since Van Gaal took over, from 1 per game in 2013/14 to 2.3 last season. Again, that may be to do with the way the manager has his side set out, but it also speaks of Smalling reading the game better and being prepared to trust himself to leave his position to pinch the ball. That confidence may also be reflected in the way his aerials won has also shown a gradual increase of late.

Against Switzerland, Smalling only misplaced two of 50 passes, and that despite hitting 14% of his passes long (5 of the 7 were accurate). He also made five tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and blocked one shot. It might not have been the toughest night for him, but what he had to do defensively he did well, and he used the ball intelligently too.

Of late, that sort of performance has started to become standard.

Will Smalling continue to impress for United? Either way, you can profit from your prediction by trading him on the BuaBook player Exchange