Cape Town - Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been given the green light to top Barcelona's bid for defender Thomas Vermaelen.
Read: Barca make first move for Vermaelen
Manchester United will offer £5 million more than Barcelona in order to secure the signing of Thomas Vermaelen, according to the Daily Mail.
Van Gaal is eager to finalise his 2014/15 English Premiership squad and sees Vermaelen as a key player to his 3-5-2 formation.
Various reports suggest that Barcelona have already made Arsenal a £10 million offer for their skipper and now Manchester United are being forced to top that offer in order to convince Arsenal to sell to a rival.
With Arsene Wenger willingly to let Vermaelen leave the Emirates, the Gunners boss has lined up Liverpool's Daniel Agger as a replacement for the Belgian defender.
Did you read: Arsenal bid for Agger