West Bromwich Albion have been linked with a move for Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen.
According to a recent report from Sky Sports, West Brom are keen to target Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen this summer as Tony Pulis looks to bolster his ranks for the coming campaign.
However, while the prospect of the Baggies bringing in someone from Barca may normally appeal to the Hawthorns faithful, the Belgian is arguably one player the Premier League side should reconsider targeting.
Thomas Vermaelen
Vermaelen is not only an international, but has also represented a couple of Europe’s biggest sides with Arsenal selling him to the Catalan giants in 2014, having signed him from Ajax five years earlier, so it would surely not be out of the question to suggest that he may well cost a significant amount of money – at least, in wages anyway.
And in all honesty, it is difficult to know why Pulis would sanction such a potentially expensive deal when he is working with a squad that arguably cannot allow for gambles during this summer transfer window.
If Vermaelen stayed fit, he would be a tremendous acquisition for the Baggies, but he has made just 33 appearances in all competitions since leaving the Emirates three years ago largely due to injury.
With West Brom already lacking numbers, they surely cannot afford to spend what may perhaps potentially be a significant portion of their remaining budget on a player who has only made 30 or more league appearances in a season twice in his entire career.
If they can land a bargain deal, then it would undoubtedly be worth taking a risk, but if signing Vermaelen does take a sizeable bite out of West Brom’s remaining budget, it may perhaps be worth looking elsewhere at this stage.
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