Smalling set to join Porto, joining Napoli's Champions League group

The 36-year-old defender is undergoing his medical at the Portuguese champions after leaving Al-Fayha as a free agent, reuniting with Italian head coach Francesco Farioli ahead of a meeting with Napoli in the Champions League league phase.

by Gennaro SanninoWednesday 30 September, 19:10 CET· 2 hours ago

Smalling con la maglia del Porto — Foto: bbc.com

Chris Smalling is a new Porto player. The English defender, 36, born in 1989, is undergoing his medical with the Dragões after arriving as a free agent following his spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Fayha. For the former Roma stalwart, it is the start of a new adventure in Portugal.

At Porto, the reigning Portuguese champions, Smalling reunites with a familiar face from Serie A: head coach Francesco Farioli, the Italian who has brought in an internationally experienced centre-back to shore up the defence and give the dressing room a point of reference for the second half of the season.

The news has a direct bearing on Napoli too. Porto are in the azzurri's Champions League league-phase group, meaning Smalling will once again cross paths with an Italian side on Europe's biggest stage — this time from the opposite end of the pitch to his years in Roma's giallorossi colours.

Napoli's European campaign has brought little good news so far. The league phase opened with a 0-1 home defeat to Arsenal on 9 September, settled by an Odegaard goal in the 75th minute, and the UEFA ranking updated on 18 September places the azzurri 25th. That is no small detail for a side that, the previous season under Antonio Conte, finished the league phase 30th with just one win, two draws and five defeats — including a 6-2 loss to PSV, the club's heaviest ever European defeat.

The comparison is uncomfortable on the transfer market front as well. While Porto land an international-class defender for free, Napoli closed the summer window with a net spend of around minus €47.5m, having put most of their resources — around €60m, by Aurelio De Laurentiis's own admission — solely into the buy-outs of Højlund and Alisson, leaving no room for further reinforcements in defence.

It is a difference in approach that matters as Champions League opponents strengthen one after another: a centre-back with Smalling's experience adds solidity to a side Napoli will have to face, while Napoli have yet to show they have put right the problems exposed against Arsenal.

Before that meeting, though, the league phase has two more fixtures already on the calendar: away to Villarreal on Tuesday 13 October, and a home game against Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday 20 October at 21:00 CET at the Maradona. Those are the matches that will show whether Napoli can really get back on track in Europe, before they even face Smalling and his new Porto side.