Serie A 2016/17: 10 of the worst transfers of the season

#7 Thomas Vermaelen – Roma

A rare sighting of the Belgian actually fit and playing

A doctor should be within 100 yards of Thomas Vermaelen at all times, just in case. The Belgian joined AS Roma from Barcelona on loan for the season after winning La Liga and the Copa del Ray over the last two years with the Catalan giants.

However, he barely saw the field then and he barely saw the field in Roma’s attempts to fight for the Scudetto. A stint of chronic groin pain, followed by calf issues and a hand injury before he kindly sat on the bench to watch everyone else not injure themselves for 90 minutes ensued.

Joking aside, to see a player that had such quality be diminished through injury is both upsetting and infuriating. Even at 31, he might have to start weighing up whether it’s worth the constant comebacks and need to regain fitness or whether retirement should be his choice rather than enforced somewhere down the line.