Having officially confirmed the signing of Lyon centre-back Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona are now in a position where the departure of Thomas Vermaelen is something of a necessity.
The Belgian defender, who impressed greatly during his country’s run in the 2016 Euros, has struggled massively both with injuries and form at the Liga BBVA champions since his move from Arsenal.
His age and fitness concerns make him a risk for most clubs, but it seems the player is pretty much willing to do anything to find a new club where he can try and play consistently.
Sport on Tuesday claim Vermaelen has told the club he is prepared to be lenient regarding his demands to facilitate any transfer and would look into most offers, even if his preference would be a return to the Premier League.
So far, all that has reached Barcelona is an offer from Roma deemed too small, and the Catalan club are waiting for West Ham to make their interest concrete.
The London side are said to have made contact about a possible move, but a bid is yet to to arrive on the board’s desk.
Liverpool and Inter Milan are also hovering, but it’s West Ham who are in the best position, even though they would prefer to try and get other targets if they can.
Barcelona would ask for around €12m (£10.1m), a fee that has gone up because of the Euros, and this week will reportedly be key if a transfer is to take place as Luis Enrique will then need to make plans for pre-season from Monday onwards.
Tic, toc, tic, toc…
