I don’t want to go into details: Everton target Thomas Vermaelen coy over failed Koeman reunion, hasn’t played for Barcelona since

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Everton failed with a deadline day move for Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has told Sky Sports that he can’t say too much about his collapsed move to Everton, simply saying that Barcelona wouldn’t let him leave.

Everton splashed the cash on a number of signings over the summer, and whilst manager Ronald Koeman was able to bring in the likes of Michael Keane, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jordan Pickford, he didn’t get one thing he wanted.

Koeman wanted to bring in a new left-footed centre back who could also play at left back, with Barcelona’s Thomas Vermaelen emerging as a top target late in the transfer window.

Vermaelen, 31, was handed his Ajax debut by Everton manager Koeman back in 2004, and after impressing in the Premier League with Arsenal, he moved on to Barcelona in 2014 – despite well-documented injury problems.

The Belgian international has continued to struggle with injuries in Catalunya, as he has made just 21 first-team appearances for the club, and after spending last season on loan at Roma, a permanent exit seemed likely this past summer.

However, the Liverpool Echo report that a deadline day loan bid from Everton fell through, when Barcelona decided they wanted to keep Vermaelen as cover for Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Samuel Umtiti.

Now, Vermaelen has told Sky Sports that he can’t go into the details of what happened with Everton, but Barcelona wouldn’t let him leave after he impressed in pre-season.

“I don’t want to go into details,” said Vermaelen. “Barcelona always said they didn’t want to let me go. All big clubs need at least four centre-backs. They were happy with my pre-season and kept me,” he added.

Vermaelen hasn’t played a single game for Barcelona since his Everton move fell through though, and with aspirations of starting for Belgium at the World Cup next summer, it may be wise for Koeman to try again in January as he seeks a left-footed defender.