After the departures of Dani Alves, Marc Bartra and Sandro Ramirez, Thomas Vermaelen will be the next player to leave Barça.

Toni Juanmarti

The arrival of Samuel Umtiti will coincide with the exit of the Belgian central defender, whose destination will likely be Italy. The player does not form part of Luis Enrique's plans and the Catalan club hopes to complete a deal next week.

At the moment, the most realistic options for Vermaelen are Inter Milan and Roma. Both clubs are chasing the player, who has performed well at Euro 2016. Indeed, Belgium missed his presence in their quarter-final defeat to Wales.

Barcelona will allow the player to leave for 10 million euros, a figure which hs not yet been met by either Italian team. The first offer from both Inter and Roma was around the eight million euros mark, so just two million euros separate the parties from reaching an agreement.

Vermaelen joined Barça two years ago, for 19 million euros from Arsenal. His first year at Camp Nou was a fiasco, with the player only able to participate in the last game of that season due to constant injury issues.

However, the player did start last season very well, with a decisive goal against Malaga and a start against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. When in his best form, he again suffered an injury, and was from that point unable to win back the coach's confidence.

With the signing of Umtiti, the French defender will join Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu ahead of the Belgian in the pecking order.

For that reason, Barça and Vermaelen understand that a sale would be best for all concerned. One that should be confirmed in the coming days.