In a summer which saw one of the most “inflated” transfer windows in European football, Premier League club Everton have shown how to utilise the money in the right way and have brought in seven players on a trot to add to their roster for the new season. The Merseyside club has bagged a plethora of top class players in the form of Wayne Rooney, Davy Klaassen, Jordan Pickford, Sandro Ramirez, Cuco Martina, Michael Keane and Henry Onyekuru, as they are aiming to make this season a good one in terms of results for them.
With the transfer market in its dying days for the current term, it seems that the Toffees are still far from ending their spending spree and are looking forward to bagging some players to their squad. This time around, they have their eyes fixed on the Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, who is currently playing for the Spanish giants Barcelona.
The 31-year-old had a tormenting time in the last few seasons at the Nou Camp, a tenure torn apart by injuries. The centre back joined the Catalan giants in 2014 from Premier League club Arsenal and has so far featured in only 21 matches for them.
Though the Belgian defender has his contract with the Blaugrana till 2019, it is almost sure that the player will be leaving Barcelona in the summer, eyeing a move back to the Premier League which will be his preferred destination. The Belgian club Anderlecht is trying to lure him to get back home, but it doesn’t seem to be the intent of the ex-Gunner.
Vermaelen is known for his towering presence in the heart of the defence, which he showed during his days at the Emirates Stadium earning him the captain’s armband. Everton boss Ronald Koeman is quite sure that it will not be very tough for the 31-year-old to handle the pressure of the Premier League, as his record of playing a staggering 150 matches for the North London club will come in handy and will help him settle down once again in the Premier League.
The Toffees have already got two top class players at the heart of their defence in the form of English and Welsh internationals Michael Keane and Ashley Williams. However, Ronald Koeman is stressing on the fact that a player like Vermaelen can always come in handy and it will be good to have a back-up like him at their disposal.
