Former Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling is back in England as he searches for a new club.The 36-year-old had been playing in Saudi Arabia with Al-Fayha, but has departed as a free agent and wants to continue his career back in his homeland.Smalling was part of the Manchester United team that won two Premier League titles between 2010 and 2013, and was also capped 31 times by England.His career slowed down when he left Old Trafford for Roma in Italy in 2019 – initially on loan – and he departed for Saudi in 2024.After two years there, he is now back in England looking for his next move.He told BBC Sport: ‘I know my body now better than when I was 26 and that’s shown in the games I’m playing. Former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling (centre) is back in England searching for his new club’When I was younger, I remember Sir Alex was implementing certain things, like Ryan Giggs doing yoga.’When you get beyond 30, each year is precious in terms of enjoying playing and being passionate about football.’Actual training is a very short time. The longevity and recovery starts very early in terms of what I’m eating and doing between sessions, even down to my supplements now.’In pre-season we have blood tests and the clubs make recommendations. I went one step further and kind of had genetics testing, which goes deep into everything. A lot of my supplements were changed because of that.’The veteran is working on education projects away from football, but doesn’t want to call it quits on his career yet. ‘Once my football career comes to an end, I can put more time to them but at the minute it’s all focused on playing because I have that passion and drive and physically my stats are good,’ he said.Smalling played 64 times for Al-Fayha in his two-year stay, scoring two goals.He started his career in non-league with Maidstone, before being picked up by Fulham and then United in 2010.He played for the Red Devils for ten years, playing more than 200 times under the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Jose Mourinho, and won the FA Cup and the Europa League alongside his two Premier League titles.