Reds 'make formal offer' for former Arsenal captain
Liverpool are reported to have made a formal offer to Barcelona in an attempt to sign former Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.
Vermaelen departed the Premier League in 2014 after lifting the FA Cup with the Gunners, who managed to collect £15m form his sale despite the Belgium international struggling horrendously with injury.
Unfortunately for Vermaelen, those injury troubles have followed him to Catalonia and he has made just 11 La Liga appearances in two years, having missed nearly the entire 2014-15 season before making his debut in the final league game of Barcelona’s title-winning campaign.
Having made a further 10 appearances this season, Vermaelen has seen Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Marc Bartra and Jeremy Mathieu share defensive duties and the Belgian looks out of head coach Luis Enrique’s plans for the future – having not made an appearance since the 6-0 victory over Getafe in March.
According to Barcelona-based newspaper Sport, Liverpool have attempted to fend off any other competition for Vermaelen with an early offer that would result in the 30-year-old moving back to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Vermaelen would be returning to familiar territory in the form of the Premier League, having spent five years at the Emirates that saw him take on the captain’s armband when Cesc Fabregas left – also for Barcelona – in 2011.
Source: Independent
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