PlayinAway – Page 8 – Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen heaps praise on summer signing Arthur

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has heaped praise on summer signing Arthur after the Brazilian’s quick adjustment to the club’s style of play. The 22-year-old made the switch from Gremio during the summer transfer window and he has since been regularly involved at the heart of the club’s midfield.

Speaking to reporters, Vermaelen highlighted that the midfielder is a good player and needs more games before completely coming to terms with the tactical nous at the club, he said: “Arthur is a good player and of course he needs more games to adapt to the club and style. But his start has been incredible, he has all the battling skills and the technical ability to go right to the top.”
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Marc-Andre Ter Stegen insists Barcelona are more than just Messi

Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has insisted that Barcelona are more than just Lionel Messi and the credit should also be given to the remaining 10 players for the Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven. The Blaugrana kick-started their European campaign with a comfortable 4-0 triumph over the Dutch champions and Messi was once more the standout performer for the Catalan giants after contributing his eighth hat-trick in the competition.

Speaking after the game, Ter Stegen admitted that Messi always turns up for the La Liga holders and nobody can compare him with any other player. However, the shot-stopper wanted respect for the other players within the squad and insists they were equally influential towards the final result on the night, he said: “Lionel Messi always turns up for us, everyone knows his level and nobody can compare to him. But while Leo always is fantastic, there are ten other players in our team who helped us in this victory too, we are a team and not just one individual.”
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Ernesto Valverde unsure whether Real Madrid would be weaker without Ronaldo

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has said that he is unsure whether Real Madrid would become a weaker opposition with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar made the surprise move to Juventus during the summer transfer window after spending nine seasons with the European champions.

Since then, there have been question marks whether Los Blancos can continue challenging for major honours but Valverde does not believe it could be the case, he said: “I do not know if it will make them weaker. We were in a similar situation last year [with Neymar] and in the end the team grew and became stronger.”
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Thomas Vermaelen Keen to Stop Kylian Mbappe in World Cup Semi-Finals

Barcelona and Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen claims that Kylian Mbappe is the biggest threat for France in the upcoming meeting between the two teams at the World Cup 2018. The PSG youngster has been a revelation so far in the tournament. Even though the competition started with the expectation that the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or Neymar will be able to shine, there has been an unexpected progress from Kylian Mbappe, who is about to become one of the world’s most expensive players when his loan move from PSG transforms into a £ 166 million permanent deal.

After ripping off several teams earlier in the competition,Mbappe is on course to making history by getting France into the finals. France are one of the teams unbeaten in the competition but they have been reliant on a handful of players in order to do the job. Vermaelen is aware of this element and he knows that Kylian Mbappe needs to be stopped in order to prevent France from having any tilt at the World Cup final. The Les Blues are hopeful of winning the competition for the first time since 1998 and there has been an effervescent mood within the camp. Vermaelen, though, has identifiedMbappe as the biggest threat for France and the primary job for the Belgian defenders will be to stop the youngster from playing his natural game.
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New Barcelona signing Clement Lenglet fancies Adrien Rabiot at Camp Nou

New Barcelona recruit Clement Lenglet has admitted that he would fancy working together with Adrien Rabiot at the Camp Nou. The France international has been linked with a potential move away from Paris Saint-Germain this summer after being frustrated with his national team snub for the summer World Cup.

Speaking to reporters, Lenglet admitted Barcelona were always his first-choice despite him receiving interest from a number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United, he said: “I chose Barcelona because, for me, they’re the biggest club [in the world] and they play in Spain, which is the best league in the world. I want to win trophies and I think I am at the best possible club to do that.
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SHOULDN’T SOUTHGATE CONSIDER POTENTIAL OPPONENTS AHEAD OF BELGIUM CLASH?

With Belgium and England through to the next stage of the World Cup, there are few worries ahead of their dead rubber game on Thursday. The only concern for the managers would be which players to give opportunities and which to rest ahead of the knockout stages.

Both teams would be seeking to finish top of the group for sake of pride. However, there is another issuethat the managers could consider. With Japan and Colombia potential opponents from Group H, we know who we’d rather face.
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Sky Sports pundit updates on Ousmane Dembele’s situation

Sky Sport football expert Guillem Balague believes Barcelona could consider the departure of Ousmane Dembele on a temporary basis for the 2018/19 season. The French footballer has witnessed a stop-start season with Barcelona – which has been hampered by injuries – but he has still managed to make France’s squad for the summer World Cup.

Recent reports have suggested that Dembele could find himself out-of-favour at Camp Nou next term with the Blaugrana keen on acquiring the signature of Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann. As such, Balague feels Dembele could leave the Catalan giants, though it may only be on a temporary basis, he said: “My understanding of the situation is they will let him go on loan. Right now, who is going to pay 100m euros for him anyway? As I said, they will let him go on loan though.”
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Barcelona Change Their Stance On Selling Thomas Vermaelen

Spanish heavyweights Barcelona have reportedly changed their stance on selling Thomas Vermaelen at the end of the current campaign. The Belgium international has just a year left on his current contract but the Blaugrana are prepared to discuss terms over an extended deal, Mundo Deportivo reports.

Vermaelen had initially been tipped to leave the Camp Nou giants during the previous summer transfer window but new boss Ernesto Valverde decide to keep hold of his services. Since then, the versatile defender has put in a number of top-notch performances, most especially during the festive period where he had to cover up for the injured Samuel Umtiti. Continue reading Barcelona Change Their Stance On Selling Thomas Vermaelen

Guillem Balague Insists Samuel Umtiti Is Playing A Two-Card Game

Sky Sports football expert Guillem Balague believes Samuel Umtiti is playing a two-card game in order to earn a new bumper contract at Barcelona. The France international has stressed his ambition to stay at the Camp Nou despite reports suggesting that he wants to treble his current wages of £50,000-a-week.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Balague said: “What is absolutely true at the moment is that Samuel Umtiti is playing a two-card game, on the one hand he is telling Barcelona he would like to stay but on the other he wants to treble his wages. It’s not normal for a player in their second season at Barcelona to renew their contract just because Manchester United reportedly wants to trigger his €60m buy-out clause. At this moment in time negotiations have stopped and right now Barcelona are less positive than they were in the past, but there is still a long way to go.”

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Thomas Vermaelen: Lionel Messi is better than ‘world-class’ Eden Hazard

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that Lionel Messi is on a different level to Eden Hazard despite the latter becoming the go-to player in the Chelsea ranks. The former Arsenal man is set to return to London this week when the Catalan giants face-off against the Blues in the Champions League round of 16 first-leg.

In an interview with The Guardian, the experienced centre-back was asked to compare the individual abilities of Hazard and Messi. Though he initially admitted that there are similarities in their style of play, the 32-year-old stressed it is difficult to place him into the calibre of Messi, who has five Ballon d’Or titles to his name.
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