Thomas Vermaelen could be returning to the Premier League as West Brom are reportedly considering a move for him.

Vermaelen, who allegedly hasn’t been given a squad number by Barcelona for the coming season, is currently being eyed by Tony Pulis at West Brom, as well as Crystal Palace.

According to the Sun, however, while the Baggies are looking to bring Verm’ on board this summer, despite the Belgium international still having two years left on his current deal, Barca could keep him as new manager, Ernesto Valverde, might want him as a ‘reserve’. At the moment, Barca only have Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti as their first choice centre-backs, and Javier Mascherano as their first reserve.

Whether Pulis wants to run the risk of signing a defender that may hardly ever be fit enough to play is another issue.

Verm’ moved to La Liga for a reported £15m in 2014 and has since gone on to make just 21 appearances for the Catalan giants since signing for them. The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at Roma, where he featured just 12 (!) times over all competitions.

The problem? Injuries.

While we always knew that Verm’ was injury-prone at Arsenal, which is most likely why we chose to sell him when we did, since his move to Spain, it’s as if his body has completely disintegrated.

In fact, the centre-back has spent a grand total of 334 days sidelined through various injuries over the last three years, and that’s not counting the summer he moved to Spain, when he was out 60 days from July with the Gunners to September with Barca.