Chris Smalling

Introduction
Chris Smalling's footballing career commenced in orthadox fashion, starting at the age 9 when he turned out for Walderslade Boys. When he reached his late teens the player had still not found a professional club, which is a rare occurance for a future Premier League player. At the age 17, whilst still at school studying for his A-Levels, he was turning out for Isthmian League (7th tier of English League football) team Maidstone Town. It was while playing for the Kent side that he attracted the attention of Premier Leaague scouts, which led to him signing for West Londoners Fulham.

Fulham Career
In the summer of 2008 Smalling made the dream move to Premier League side Fulham, making his debut on 24th May 2009 in a 2-0 defeat to the hands of Everton at Craven Cottage. During the 2009-10 season in which Chris Smalling made 18 appearances, his club reached the Europa League final, which was a fantastic feat for an unfashionable club. Unfortunately they were defeated in the final by Spaniards Athletico Madrid

Manchester United Career
Half way through the 2009-10 season on 26 January 2010 Manchester United announced that they had signed the player for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £10m. The deal put in place allowed the player to remain at Fulham until the end of the season, after which he would join United.

Chris Smalling made his Reds debut on their 2010 tour of North America when he lined-up against Scotland's Glasgow Celtic in a 3-1 victory, in Toronto. Smalling's competitive debut came for the club on 28 August 2010 in a 3-0 victory over West Ham United at Old Trafford. Three weeks later he scored his first Manchester United goal in his side's 5-2 League Cup victory over Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park, when he superbly flicked the ball home from a Park Ji-Sung cross.

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