Manchester United are leading the race to sign Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen. With the defender reportedly being the subject of a £10m bid from Barcelona, Vermaelen is considering his options, with Manchester United ready to trump Barcelona's offer and bid £15m for the defender, who played one game for his nation Belgium at the World Cup.
Injuries combined with the form of first-choice centre-backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has seen Vermaelen's appearances restricted at the Gunners, starting just seven league games last season, another seven came from substitute appearances.
Arsène Wenger also confirmed in a press conference this afternoon that the club has recieved bids for Vermaelen, and that Manchester United is one of those clubs to make a bid:
"Bids have been made for Thomas Vermaelen, and Manchester United are part of that group. Vermaelen could leave us because he needs to play now. We're in a position where it's difficult to stand in his way." Wenger also went on to say that he would prefer to sell to a club abroad.
The sale of Vermaelen may mean a replacement being signed by Arsène Wenger, or sticking to his word and shifting new signing Calum Chambers to centre-back. The move will also mean that Arsenal will need to select a new captain, with Mikel Arteta currently the vice captain to Vermaelen.
If Arsenal are to sign a new centre-back, two of the names being linked in recent days are Liverpool's Daniel Agger and Manchester City's Matija Nastasić. The latter has supposedly been placed on the transfer list by the Blues, with Eliaquim Mangala expected to sign in the coming days.
