In his early days with Arsenal, Thomas Vermaelen was viewed in high stead by fans and pundits, with many suggesting he could be the man to fix Arsene Wenger's leaky defence.

Sadly, he never really got the opportunity to do so, with the Belgian international succumbing to a number of long injury layoffs.

Despite his stock decreasing fairly rapidly in the latter stages of his Gunners career, the former Ajax defender managed to seal a move to Spanish giants Barcelona in 2014.

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However, his career with the Blaugrana has followed the same trend, with injuries limiting his participation.

He spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Roma where he made just nine appearances, with the likes of Federico Fazio and Antonio Rudiger firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.

Now, despite some sporadic appearances in Barca's pre-season campaign, Vermaelen looks destined to leave Catalonia this summer and he could end up at a fairly surprising destination.

West Brom have identified the Belgian as a potential target as they look set to miss out on Middlesbrough's Ben Gibson, who is valued at £30m.

As reported by the Mirror, Baggies manager Tony Pulis sees the Barca man as a very viable option to strengthen his defence ahead of the new season.

Vermaelen would certainly be a cheaper option than Gibson and the Hawthorns could the perfect environment for him to rediscover some form, as long as he avoids injury.

The 31-year-old is still in the frame for the Belgian national team and a season of regular first-team football would certainly make him an option for Roberto Martinez's 2018 World Cup squad.

However, he would initially struggle to break into the Baggies team at first due to the presence of Jonny Evans and Gareth McAuley.

The Northern Irish duo excelled under Pulis last season and the manager would certainly think twice about breaking up the partnership.

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