Failing to land their first-choice central defender, Barcelona is aiming their sites elsewhere.
The Spanish side is attempting to sign Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen. Brazilian international and AC Milan center-back Thiago Silva but they only have about 30 million pounds, $46.5 million, to spend. It has been reported that French club Paris Saint-Germain offered Milan 32 million pounds for the Brazilian only to be turned down.
Another Brazilian defender, Chelsea's David Luiz, was Barcelona's second choice. However, club officials believe he too, will be difficult to pry from his away from his club. That has led the Spanish side to look towards Vermaelen. The Belgian defender would be a nice pickup because of his ability to play both defense and midfield. Arsenal is likely to put up a fight to retain his services.
In other transfer news, Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar has left the English club to join Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev. The Croatian national had a successful first campaign with Tottenham in 2009, scoring five goals in 32 appearances. He subsequently dropped out of favor with the emergence of Gareth Cole. He made just nine league appearances last season as he battled a knee injury.
Dynamo had tried to sign Kranjcar twice before, including last summer, but the Ukrainian club balked at the asking price from Spurs. It is reported that Dynamo paid 5.5 million pounds, about $8.5 million, for Kranjcar.
