The scouting search begins at the Emirates this week as Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen looks a dead cert to join Manchester United.

Vermaelen has been kept out of the side consistently since the win at Bayern Munich in March last year, where the Koscielny-Mertesacker partnership was born, and the solid duo haven’t looked back since. The two recently went two years without losing a game in which both completed the full 90, giving Vermaelen no opportunity to recover from his niggling injuries and return to the first eleven.

New United boss Louis van Gaal is supposedly confident of landing the 28-year-old, who is currently in Brazil with Belgium, to replace the outbound Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, and the versatile Vermaelen is able to play at centre-half OR left back.

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The World Cup has provided a perfect opportunity to shop for new stars, and Wenger will no doubt be watching the likes of Dejan Lovren and Benedikt Howedes who are set for moves away from Southampton and Schalke respectively.

Elsewhere, former Spurs youngster Steven Caulker has emerged as a possible target since impressing in his debut season at Cardiff. Staying in Wales, Swansea City’s Ashley Williams could be drafted in to shore up the Gunners defence, although the quiet rumours involving Williams have now rumbled on across nearly 3 transfer windows.

Wenger could line up a North London heartbreaker by snatching star defender Jan Vertonghen from under Tottenham noses, as Champions League football beckons for yet another season on the red side.

Vermaelen’s international teammate Toby Alderweireld is another one to have been linked for an extensive period of time, while young giant and Anderlecht defender Cheikhou Kouyate could provide a cheap alternative.

However, whoever does come to the Emirates this summer is going to have to be happy to sit on the bench behind the might Kosc+BFG.

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