Premier League giants Arsenal could officially unveil the signing of Sao Paulo winger Marquinhos when the English transfer window opens on June 10th, as reported by Brazilian publication Globo Esporte.
It’s two weeks now since reports emerged indicating that Arsenal had agreed a fee for the Wolves and Atletico Madrid target. Since then, it’s been radio silence from North London.
But fear not Gunners fans; Marquinhos is potentially just ten days away from being confirmed as an Arsenal player.
Globo Esporte say that Sao Paulo expect the deal to be rubber stamped when transfer window officially opens on June 10th. Arsenal will reportedly split the £3 million fee into two payments, the first of which will be paid before the month is out.
The size of Marquinhos’ transfer fee has not gone down particularly well at the Morumbi. But, due to a rather strange contract situation, Sao Paulo had little choice but to cash in now rather than risk losing Marquinhos for absolutely nothing later down the line.
Arsenal will unveil Marquinhos in June
“(Marquinhos) was supposed to be (available for) free. That’s the truth. We still got 3 million euros from Arsenal,” says Muricy Ramalho, Sao Paulo’s sport’s co-ordinator.
“If he went to FIFA (and appealed), we wouldn’t be entitled to anything.”
“The Marquinhos issue is a well-known issue,” adds president Julio Casares, pointing out that the 19-year-old had made up his behind even before his breakthrough, Man of the Match performance during the Copa Libertadores victory over Racing Club back in July 2021.
“He didn’t want to stay. We tried everything. Even before the game against Racing, he didn’t want to stay. It was a contractual issue.”
Earlier on in the negotiations, Sao Paulo tried and failed to reach an agreement with Marquinhos’ representatives regarding the size of a release clause in a potential new contract. The teenager’s camp wanted the clause set at 10 million euros – some 50 million euros less than Sao Paulo were hoping for.
The report adds that Arsenal made their first approach to Marquinhos in mid-May.
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