Everton have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Chris Smalling to Goodison Park this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Corriere Dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that the AS Roma centre-back is no longer considered non-transferable by the Serie A club, with both Tiago Pinto and Jose Mourinho believed to be open to the sale of the 31-year-old in the summer transfer window.

The report added that Everton are extremely interested in making a move for the former Manchester United defender, and should Marcel Brands submit an acceptable offer, Roma would not stand in the way of Smalling's departure from the Stadio Olimpico this summer.

Brands will be buzzing

While Smalling did not have the best of seasons for the Giallorossi last time out, something which was largely down to the centre-back picking up a number of varying injuries, the 31-year-old's form in the season prior demonstrated that, as long as he keeps himself injury-free, he would be a fantastic signing for the Toffees to get over the line this summer.

Indeed, over his 30 Serie A appearances for Paulo Fonseca's side in 2019/20, the £10.8m-rated man helped his side to keep six clean sheets, as well as averaging 1.9 interceptions, 0.8 tackles and four clearances and winning 4.5 duels per game.

The England international also impressed for Roma in an attacking capacity that term, scoring three goals, providing two assists and averaging 0.3 key passes per league fixture. These returns saw the £102,000-per-week centre-back earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Roma's sixth-best performer in the Italian top-flight that year.

As such, with Marcel Brands undoubtedly hoping to build a squad in the summer transfer market which would be capable of much more than Everton's 10th-placed finish in the Premier League last time around, the news that the player Fonseca dubbed an "extraordinary" defender is available on the transfer market is sure to have left the Toffees director of football buzzing.

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