West Ham unlikely to sign Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admits that he would love to sign Belgium international Thomas Vermaelen on loan from Arsenal, but also confessed it is unlikely that the Gunners will let their team captain leave.

Vermaelen has struggled to force his way into Arsenal's first team plans of late, with the preferred duo of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker continuing to impress. Despite the lack of first team football, the Gunners are hoping to keep their defender for the forseeable future.


"I think under the circumstances at Arsenal, in the position that they’re in, in the Champions League and cup matches, they’ve had to use him as soon as any of the two defenders have been injured," West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said.


"So I don’t think there’s any chance we’ll get somebody of his quality. It would be nice if I we could.


"I’ve had targets and I haven’t got one yet apart from Roger Johnson, so I’ll keep going and hope we get some."