Former Arsenal defender, Thomas Vermaelen, wants to return to the Emirates this summer as his place in Barcelona’s first team comes under question.
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According to reports in the Daily Star, the 30-year-old will force a move away from Luis Enrique’s side after they signed two centre backs in as many days.
Things never really got off the mark for Vermaelen when he touched down in La Liga following a cut-price departure from the Emirates Stadium for just £15million.
At the time the move helped both clubs out, with the funds used to bring Mathieu Debuchy to the club as defensive reinforcement, a move that also ended in disappointment.
During his time with Barcelona, the Belgian has made just 11 appearances in Spain’s top division and is now expected to get booted down the pecking order after Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne joined the Catalan giants this week.
Reports are suggesting that Vermaelen is sick of his time in Spain and wants a move back to the Premier League just two years after leaving, with Arsenal being his top choice.
West Ham are also in the hunt for a defender and that would suit his desire to live in London again, but he will most likely have to take a serious wage cut in order to see any offers.
Whether or not Wenger would want his former captain at the club is another question, his ability is hard to judge because he’s had such a rocky patch of games.
His performance for Belgium in the Euro’s was average and it would be a gamble to bring in yet another defender in their 30’s to build a steady and consistent back four for the season.
There is no doubting that Wenger needs a signing in the defensive region with just Calum Chambers as a relevant back-up as Per Mertesacker begins to slide out of regular first team action.
Arsenal have also been linked to the likes of Kostas Manolas, Daniele Rugani who are each playing in the Serie A and stand as players ready to hit their peak years.
As much as many Arsenal fans would love to see Vermaelen back in the Premier League, I doubt very many of them would be keen to see him in a red and white jersey.
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