Player ‘on the exit ramp’ for January, and Steve Walsh could welcome him to Everton

Thomas Vermaelen is ‘on the exit ramp’ for a January transfer, report Spanish newspaper Sport.

With Barcelona under increasing pressure to get their wage bill down, and sell or loan some of their fringe players, Vermaelen is often a name which crops up. In theory, the Belgian would be a number four central defender for Ernesto Valverde, but his battles with fitness mean Barcelona struggle to rely on him and give the player chances.

Vermaelen stated after the close of the summer window that Everton had made attempts to sign him right up until the market closed. If this was true, and it’s fair to say his claims were disputed by the Catalan media, although not specifically the Everton interest, then there’s another chance soon.

If Vermaelen was a Steve Walsh pick rather than Ronald Koeman then the opportunity should be around soon enough. The problem is that Sport suggest a condition of a loan could be that Vermaelen gets games, and with the player’s fitness history, that sort of guarantee would be almost impossible to give.

This situation only seems to rumble on.

Right back Aleix Vidal, who was in impressive form before he picked an injury, is also said to be available.