1. Chris Smalling

Veteran centre-back Chris Smalling has been a mainstay in Roma’s backline since his move from Manchester United in 2020. He completed the £15 million-pound move after being frozen out of United’s side by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Englishman was reunited with former manager Jose Mourinho in 2021 when Mourinho moved to the Italian capital. During his prime, the centre-back was strong in the tackle and aerially one of the best defenders around. Despite his age, he produced a Man of the Match performance in the Europa Conference League final as Roma secured their first major European trophy, with Smalling picking up the award in the final.

Smalling has featured most noticeably in a back three formation under Mourinho. His dominating presence has helped guide Roma to European success and improvements in their defensive records. He was also a regular for England, making 31 appearances between 2010 and 2017. Now 34 years old and approaching the twilight of his career, Smalling has struggled for game time with Mancini, Ndicka, and Llorente being the three main center-backs for De Rossi’s side, along with struggling with injuries. He has only featured six times for the Giallorossi this season

2. Djed Spence

Spence is currently on loan at Genoa from Tottenham Hotspur. He burst into English football as a key component of Nottingham Forest’s promotion side back in 2022. The wing-back starred for Steve Cooper’s side as they gained promotion to the Premier League. However, since then, Spence has failed to impress. He moved to the London side Tottenham, where he failed to secure a starting spot and has since been replaced by Pedro Porro. Six months into his move to Tottenham, he found himself loaned to the French team Stade Rennais, where he made only eight appearances. After this poor loan spell, he was loaned to Leeds United, where once again he failed to impress, leading manager Daniel Farke to question Spence’s attitude. The year-long loan was cut short, and Spence is now on loan at Genoa with an obligation to buy clause, where he has featured seven times.

During this loan spell, he has started four times and made three substitute appearances with an average rating of 6.57, according to WhoScored.com. Since his breakthrough season for Forest, Spence has failed to show the same level he displayed in those seasons. He was the Championship’s best wing-back in that season, with three goals, five assists, and being the main attacking threat on Forest’s right-hand side. However, since then, he has seen no success, and the 23-year-old will be hoping to rejuvenate his career with a move to Italy, where many teams operate a five-back formation, in which Spence starred for Forest.

3. Fikayo Tomori

When Tomori was moved on by Chelsea in June 2021, eyebrows were raised. The young Englishman had shown promise in Chelsea’s backline before being transferred to AC Milan. Since his move to the San Siro, he has become one of Serie A’s best center-backs. He possesses elite physical attributes, including pace, strength, and tackling ability. Tomori has been a mainstay in Italy, featuring 100 times for Milan.

Tomori has continued his fine form at the back this season and is an outstanding candidate for Southgate’s Euro side. Unfortunately, Southgate seems to have a habit of ignoring leagues outside of England, and with Tomori’s exclusion in the recent friendlies for players like Dunk, it suggests that Tomori, despite being one of England’s best center-backs, will miss out on the Euro squad. Since moving to Milan, Tomori has been linked with many top English sides. According to the MEN, Manchester United were linked with Tomori over the summer. However, a move has never fully materialized, and Tomori is clearly loving life in Italy.

I believe that Tomori should be on the plane; his defensive capabilities, matched with his pace, make him a good alternative, as well as allowing Trent to slot into his natural position, as the England backline wouldn’t rely solely on Walker’s excellent recovery pace. That being said, Tomori is unlikely to be called up, and with young options such as Branthwaite and Colwill being thrown into the mix, Tomori will be looking for success with Rossoneri in the coming seasons.

4. Keinan Davis

The final English player playing in Serie A is the former Aston Villa striker Keinan Davis. Davis never fully established himself in the top tier of English football, but he will be hopeful that his recent move to Udinese will help him cement his place in a top league. While in England, he was on loan at Watford and Forest, scoring 28 goals and providing 21 assists. Davis moved to Udinese in the summer of 2023 and has only featured three times, as the Italian Lorenzo Lucca has been in fine form.

Davis signed a contract keeping him at Udinese until 2027 and will be hopeful of securing a place, especially if Lorenzo Lucca finds a move away, with big clubs in Europe keeping tabs on his form. During his time in England, Davis was known for his good hold-up play and interlinking with teammates, and he’ll be looking to replicate this in Italy. Davis is currently out injured with an unknown return date, so we shall see if he can kick on in Italy.