Chris Smalling revealed he's hoping for a "full pre-season" with Manchester United having missed the majority of last season's due to being with England at Euro 2016.

The centre-back has recently been linked with a move away from the club, particularly following Victor Lindelöf's £30.7m move to Man United from Benfica. West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are both reportedly interested.

Smalling wants a "full pre-season"

Smalling, though, didn't hint at any sort of exit from the club. Speaking to the club's official website, he said his main aim for pre-season is simply "being a part of it all, because last summer I was involved in the European Championships with England."

The Englishman has also been hit by injuries frequently throughout his career and so he says he's "just looking forward to getting a full pre-season under my belt and being ready for the start of the season."

United travel to the USA for the first half of their pre-season, playing a number of very high-profile games in the International Champions Cup, a tournament former-manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised recently.

United to play 8 pre-season games including overseas Manchester derby

The Reds have eight pre-season fixtures. The USA tour includes games against LA Galaxy, Barcelona, Real Madrid and local rivals Manchester City, which will be the first Manchester derby hosted overseas, in Houston.

“Tours are all about hard work and travelling," said Smalling. "But being able to play football in different countries is a joy. The games are my favourite thing about being on tour. Seeing new places and training at different facilities."

Smalling: Good to learn about different cultures

“It’s nice to see and learn about different cultures in life and sport and we quite often train at other sports teams’ facilities so it’s good to pick up little things from them.”

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About the author
Harry Robinson
Deputy Editor-in-Chief at VAVEL UK, and Manchester United Editor.