Report: West Brom tipped to sign Barcelona's Vermaelen

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen is reportedly close to returning to the Premier League, according to Aidan Magee from Sky Sports.

Vermaelen has attracted the attention of West Bromwich Albion, who is believed to be the front-runner eager to sign the out-of-favour defender despite his frustrating spell away from Arsenal when he signed on with Barcelona in 2014.

Crystal Palace is also said to be intrigued, as Premier League clubs examine the possibility of signing a defender whose contract with Barca runs until 2019, with questions over his ability to remain fit, but also one who has plenty of experience in England's top flight.

Injuries plagued his career in Spain before he was shipped off to Italy last season where he was sidelined with various knocks during his season-long loan with AS Roma.

With an apparent clean bill of health heading into the 2017-18 campaign, there's little chance he will remain at Barcelona, where, even when he's fully fit, Vermaelen would struggle to break into the first team behind the likes of Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Javier Mascherano, and other centre-backs available to manager Ernesto Valverde.

After appearing in over 200 matches for Arsenal, Vermaelen, who joined the north London outfit from Ajax in 2009, has only managed to make seven Liga appearances with the Blaugrana.