Barcelona reportedly refused an offer from Everton for Thomas Vermaelen after already loaning out another centre-back in Marlon Santos to Ligue 1 outfit Nice.
The Liverpool Echo reported that Ronald Koeman’s side wanted the 31-year-old on a year’s loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season as the Dutch manager wanted some cover at centre-back and left-back.
The Catalan giants refused the deal as they themselves wanted cover in those positions after the deal with Nice for 21-year-old Santos was finalised.
The former Arsenal defender left the Gunners for Barcelona in 2014 for £15m, per BBC Sport. The Belgian had played 150 games for Arsene Wenger’s men which included an FA Cup final win over Hull City a few months before his departure.
Vermaelen would have been excellent cover in an already strong Everton back-line and would have helped them in their quest to break into the top six, adding invaluable experience to the quality of the squad.