West Brom Interested in Signing Former Arsenal Defender and Belgium International Thomas Vermaelen

West Brom are interested in signing former Arsenal centre-back Thomas Vermaelen.

The Belgium international left Arsenal for the Nou Camp in 2014 but has been plagued with injury problems, making just 20 league appearances across the past three seasons as he spent the 2016-17 campaign with Serie A side Roma.

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Sky Sports believe the Baggies could move for the 31-year-old, who played for Belgium during their Euro 2016 campaign, despite Vermaelen having another two years to run on his Barcelona contract.

However, Tony Pulis' side may have to battle Crystal Palace for Vermaelen's signature, with the Eagles reportedly interested in bolstering their central defence options despite recently signing Jairo Riedewald from Ajax for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £8m.

Pulis remains a fan of experienced centre-backs, with veteran defender Gareth McAuley being handed a one-year extension to his current contract in March, but the two teams are still weighing up whether Vermaelen is a viable signing given his injury problems.

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With Belgium well set to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Vermaelen will be hoping to secure regular football for the 2017-18 season to secure a spot in Roberto Martinez's squad.

Vermaelen has 52 caps for Belgium after making his international debut in 2006 while at former side Ajax, where began his career, making 133 appearances in all competitions and scoring nine goals.

Despite leaving North London for the Nou Camp three years ago, Vermaelen has made just seven La Liga starts and faces competition from Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Samuel Umtiti for a first-team spot under new manager Ernesto Valverde.