Rumour: Napoli eye Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen

Italian club Napoli are chasing Arsenal’s club captain Thomas Vermaelen as the Belgian is finding is increasingly difficult to find playing time ahead of the World Cup.

Vermaelen, despite being Arsenal’s captain, is struggling for minutes on the pitch this season as Per Mertesacker’s and Laurent Koscielny’s partnership at the heart of the Gunners’ defence grows stronger by the week.

The Belgian has featured in just seven Premier League games this season and will only get back into the starting XI should one of Koscielny or Mertesacker pick up an injury or suspension.

He’s previously stated that he’s happy at Arsenal but with the World Cup approaching, he’ll need to start playing first-team football or risk missing out on a place in Belgium’s highly-competitive squad.

It seems that Rafael Benitez’s Napoli are prepared to give him a chance of first-team football, according to reports in Italy.

Benitez looks to be trying to improve Napoli’s squad in the current transfer window considering the links to Vermaelen, Yann M’Vila, Etienne Capoue, Javier Mascherano and Alberto Moreno.

Vermaelen has won four tackles in his seven appearances this season – a success rate of 57%.