Aston Villa center back Ron Vlaar’s future remains unclear as the Dutchman could leave in the summer as a Bosman. The former Feyenoord man has less than a year remaining on his contract and could be on his way if the recent rumours of Manchester United and Arsenal showing interest in him are true.
Manchester United are strong favourites to sign the 29-year old as he played under Louis Van Gaal in the World Cup. United’s defence has been really shaky after conceding 8 goals in 5 league games so far, and Vlaar might get tempted to make the switch to Old trafford as it is very likely that he’ll be the 1st choice in the current back four. Despite signing the likes of Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw, Louis Van Gaal could go for more in the January transfer window as their defence looks far from convincing.
Arsenal on the other hand, failed to replace Thomas Vermaelen after his move to Barcelona for a reported £15m fee in August. The injuries to key defenders haven’t helped and Arsene Wenger might be forced to buy a some one in January.
Vlaar’s situation means that he’ll be available in January for a cut-price deal. The Dutch international was signed for close to £3.2m from Feyenoord in 2012 and Villa manager Paul Lambert will not want a loss by waiting until next summer. Vlaar has missed out so far due to a calf injury and could feature in the upcoming games.
Paul Lambert will want to tie the Villa skipper to a new deal after securing Gabriel Agbonlahor and Alan Hutton’s futures at the club. Villa have had a brilliant start to the season that has seen them climb up to third in the league. If they continue their rich vein of form for the next few months then they could succeed in convincing Vlaar to stay at the club.However, a drop in form like last season will mean disastrous as they could lose Vlaar in the January window for a very low fee or even in the summer for nothing.