Friday, 7th June, 2013
Arsenal defender and Belgian international Thomas Vermaelen could see himself wearing Barcelona colours come next season as the Camp Nou club look to bolster their defence with "more modest" centre-back signings, according to Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo.
The signing of Brazilian sensation Neymar will surely have put a considerable dent in the Catalan giants’ transfer budget, coming in at €57m. And due to this, it is believed that Barcelona are looking to spend less on their next travails in the transfer market.
With Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva out of the question, Barcelona have set their sights on Vermaelen, who is believed to be seeking an exit from the Emirates Stadium after being dropped from the team in favour of the Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker pairing.
True enough, a quick look at the Arsenal line-up for the past campaign sees Vermaelen benched in Arsenal’s final six matches. The Belgian centre-back, however, insists he is happy in London.
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But should Barcelona indeed chase Vermaelen’s signature, then they could face tough competition in Rafael Benitez’s Napoli, who have been linked with signing the Belgian in recent weeks.
Vermaelen’s contract with Arsenal is set to expire in 2015. He joined the Gunners from Ajax.
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