West Ham and Liverpool are interested in bringing former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen back to the Premier League, with Sport claiming that the duo have inquired about the availability of the Belgian centre-half.
The experienced enforcer has had a number of serious injury concerns since swapping the Emirates Stadium for Camp Nou, and has struggled for first-team football at the Catalan club.
It is believed that Vermaelen will be allowed to leave Barcelona this summer by boss Luis Enrique, with the Catalan giants set to revamp their options at the back ahead of 2016-17.
West Ham’s priorities are in the attacking third this summer but another established centre-half could well be a shrewd asset for the London club.
However, if Slaven Bilic’s men are to make a move for Vermaelen this summer a thorough medical would need to be passed to avoid the club splashing a considerable amount of money on a player that has a poor track record of being sidelined in recent years.
