Vermaelen to Barcelona?

La Liga giants Barcelona are reportedly set to reignite their pursuit of Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen in the coming days after their £34 million bid for Roma centre-back Marquinhos was rejected.

The Catalan giants are keen to strengthen their defensive options ahead of the new La Liga season and had marked Marquinhos as their main target for the centre-back position at the club.

However, it is believed that a big cash offer for the 20-year-old had been declined by the Ligue 1 champions, and new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is now set to turn his attention towards Vermaelen.

The Belgian international has now entered the final year of his contract at Arsenal and had been rumoured to be closing in on a move to Manchester United.

Barcelona had been thought to be interested in making a move for Tottenham stopper Jan Vertonghen, but he recently declared his intention to stay at White Hart Lane.

Vermaelen joined Arsenal in the summer of 2009 from Dutch giants Ajax and is the skipper of the North London side.