Jamie Ireland
Despite not having a manager at the helm, the centre-back issue is proving difficult to solve for Ed Woodward but there are a few names which haven’t been mentioned.
Arsenal Captain Thomas Vermaelen has told Sky Sports that his rumoured move to Manchester United is false and that he is yet to make up his mind.
The former Ajax defender is currently focused on helping ‘dark horses’ Belgium progress as far as possible in the World Cup in Brazil and isn’t thinking about club football.
Manchester United are not the only club monitoring the Vermaelen situation at Arsenal, with Coppa Italia winners Napoli interested in the Belgian defender.
As for United, here are three other options to explore at centre-back –
Steven Caulker Perhaps an unlikely candidate, but the 22 year-old proved he could handle the Premier League last season with his five goals from set plays. Unfortunately he was obligated to go down with the ship like a good Captain with Cardiff City.
Ron Vlaar Again, an unexpected name on the list but as we have seen in the World Cup with the Netherlands, van Gaal is confident to have Vlaar at the heart of his back three. Premier League proven, strong, experienced and won 65% of his tackles last season (Squawka)
Kyriakos Papadopoulos A player who at 22 has struggled with injures a lot more than he should but when this guy plays he is a colossus. In the 2012/13 season he won 83% of his headed duels and 69% of his tackles. When fit he is a defensive superman. (Squawka)
