Man United favs to sign Vermaelen as Wenger opens door
Published:
The odds on Thomas Vermaelen becoming a Manchester United player this summer have taken a tumble following comments made by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
In a candid press conference Wenger claimed that reports linking the Gunner with Colombia ace Juan Quintero are �wrong� but admitted it �is possible� that the injured Vermaelen could be moved on before the close of the transfer window.
The Belgian ace is club captain at the Emirates but found his playing time limited at the back end of last season with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny the preferred partnership.
The comments have seemingly opened the door to an Old Trafford switch, with Ladbrokes pricing the Red Devils at evens to be Vermaelen�s next club.
New United manager Louis van Gaal has made no secret of his desire to bring in new defensive talent following the summer departures of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Alex Buttner.
The Dutchman has identified Vermaelen as one of his primary targets, alongside Borussia Dortmund�s Mats Hummels, and Wenger�s comments will certainly encourage a bid from the United boss.
United are 5/2 favourites to land Hummels should he be allowed to leave BVB but odds of 1/10 suggest the World Cup-winning German will be staying put.
This makes the need for Van Gaal to snap up the Belgian even more pressing and with Barcelona also interested the United gaffer will be advised to move quickly.
Barca will also have been encouraged and could now make a move for Vermaelen but the Catalan giant�s preference for fielding central midfielders in the centre back role make a switch to the Nou Camp an outside bet at 6/1.
United, then, looks the most likely destination and the Red Devils 5/1 odds on lifting the Premier League crown could shorten if the Arsenal man joins Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera as part of LVG�s new-look side.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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