Marseille announce ambition to keep Arthur Vermeeren

Olympique de Marseille have announced their desire to keep Arthur Vermeeren (20), who is currently on loan at the club from RB Leipzig.

Vermeeren’s performances have been promising since he arrived in the summer. The young Belgian has had plenty of game time under Roberto De Zerbi at the Vélodrome. Despite the wealth of options at the Italian’s disposal, Vermeeren has been a regular and to date has 11 appearances for OM in all competitions.

Crucially, he has played in all four (including three starts) of Marseille’s UEFA Champions League games, a sign of trust in the young midfielder.

Foot Mercato understands that OM have the option to make the midfielder’s loan move permanent for a fee of €20m at the end of the season. Speaking on RMC Sport show After Foot, the club’s sporting director, Medhi Benatia, announced that the intention is to retain Vermeeren beyond the end of the current campaign.

“We have the option. He is a great guy, very calm. The idea is to continue with him. If he likes it – and I think that is the case – and if he wants to still have fun in a great team, he will be welcome because he’s a really good player,” said Benatia.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle