Christopher Lloyd "Chris" Smalling

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Chris Smalling
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Chris Smalling
Personal information
Full name Christopher Smalling
Date of birth 22 November 1989 (age 20)
Place of birth Greenwich, London, England
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 31⁄2 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Fulham
Number 26
Youth career
Millwall
Maidstone United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2008 Maidstone United 12 (1)
2008– Fulham 3 (0)
National team‡
2009- England U20 1 (0)
2009– England U21 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:08, 26 January 2010 (UTC+1).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:08, 26 January 2010 (UTC+1)
Christopher "Chris" Smalling (born 22 November 1989 in Greenwich, London, England) is an English football defender, currently playing for Fulham. He will join Manchester United prior to the 2010–11 season after signing a pre-contract agreement with the club on 26 January 2010.
Contents [hide]
1 Career
1.1 Early career
1.2 Fulham
1.3 Manchester United
2 International career
3 References
4 External links
Career

Early career
Smalling started playing football at the age of 9 for Walderslade Boys. After failing to settle at any football league academy, Smalling opted to continue his education at Chatham Grammar School for Boys whilst playing for Isthmian League side Maidstone United. At the age of 17, Smalling made his competitive debut for 'The Stones', starting against Canvey Island in the Isthmian League Cup. Two months later he made his league debut, playing the whole match in a 2–1 loss against Heybridge Swifts. Smalling went on to play eleven more times for Maidstone, his final appearance coming in a 4–2 win at East Thurrock United, a game in which he scored his only senior goal for the club.
During the 2007–08 season, Smalling was also selected to represent his county (Kent), and the Kent Schools' Football Association then nominated him for trials for the English Schools' Football Association's Under 18 international squad. He was selected to represent the ESFA in the programme of fixtures in the Centenary Shield, including the game against Scotland Schools at Wembley in April 2008.
Fulham
In June 2008 Smalling signed for Premier League side Fulham.[1] He was made captain of the club's Development Squad by manager Billy McKinlay.[2] On 24 May 2009, Smalling made his Premier League debut for Fulham, replacing Aaron Hughes in the 77th minute in the final game of the 2008-09 season, a 2-0 home loss to Everton.[3] Smalling made his first start for Fulham in on 17 September 2009, in an away tie with CSKA Sofia in the UEFA Europa League with the match ending 1-1.[4] On 28 December 2009, Smalling made his first league start for Fulham, in a 2-1 loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Fulham's final game of 2009. Smalling scored an 'unfortunate' own goal to give Chelsea the win.[5]
Manchester United
On 26 January 2010, Manchester United announced that they had signed Smalling, with the player staying at Fulham for the remainder of the season before joining the Reds for the 2010–11 season.[6]
International career

Smalling made his debut for the England under-20 team in April 2009, playing 45 minutes against Italy at Loftus Road. On 11 August 2009, four months after his under-20 debut, he made his Under-21 debut in a friendly fixture against the Netherlands, coming on as a substitute in the 58th minute of a 0-0 away draw.[7] On 14 December 2009, Smalling made first start for the Under-21's in a 2011 U21 European Championship qualifier against Portugal at Wembley Stadium in a 1-0 win.[8]