Thomas Vermaelen is reportedly set to leave La Liga champions Barcelona.
There has been plenty of focus on Southampton’s lack of attacking quality in the last year or so and rightly so. But, if you ask Saints fans, the defence isn’t too hot at the moment either.
Mark Hughes’ side have been breached 21 times in just 12 games this season – only four teams have conceded more. The £18 million giant Jannick Vestergaard has hardly lived up to his potential while Wesley Hoedt has become something of a scapegoat in recent months with the shadow of Virgil van Dijk looming large above St Mary’s.
But could Thomas Vermaelen solve Southampton’s problem, at least at one end of the pitch?
According to El Mundo Deportivo, the experienced Belgian is set to leave Barcelona when his contract expires in the summer, having been limited to just three appearances in all competitions this season with his injury curse striking again.
Nonetheless, it is claimed that Southampton previously expressed an interest in bringing the former Arsenal captain back to England with El Mundo adding that the Premier League is the Belgian international’s preferred destination.
If Vermaelen can prove his fitness, he’d offer composure, class and no shortage of experience. And with Southampton’s defence looking error-prone on a weekly basis right now, the three-time La Liga champion is surely worth the risk even if he has spent far too much time on the treatment table in recent seasons.
Vermaelen, if he can stay fit and firing, could be the sort of player who galvanises a struggling team and gives them a backbone they have been lacking for far too long.
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