Record deal for a defender edges ever closer
Add comment June 8th, 2009
Arsenal appear to be on the verge of signing Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen, for a free that will certainly be the highest we’ve ever paid for a defender.
Speaking to the Belgian press, the player’s agent [Soren Lerby] revaled that whilst our first offer was rejected, our second ought to pave the way for the Ajax captain to move to London.
The player himself has since spoken out about a move, and left no room for uncertainty about his motivations:
â€In the coming days there will be more talks. Moving to Arsenal is the right path for me. It is a great sporting challenge and I will also be financially better off. I think everything is going to be okay.â€
I suppose the positive way to look at that would be to call it ‘refreshing honesty’.
Not everyone is convinced he’s the answer to our defensive woes, but I think I’m in the majority when I say that I’m not really best-placed to judge, having barely seen him play. What I would say is that his height (only 5’10”) oughtn’t be an impediment if he is capable of attacking the ball with gusto. Abou Diaby and Johan Djourou are both giants, but both struggle in the air.
Perhaps I’ll have to re-evaluate my assessment of Sport.co.uk’s reliability. More on this as and when it arrives.
