West Ham are set to announce the signing of Barcelona player Marlon this week according to Calcio Mercato.
The Italian media outlet has revealed that an agreement is imminent and comes after reliable journalist, Albert Roge stated on his Twitter account that a fee of £13.1 million (€15million) had been agreed between the two parties.
https://twitter.com/albert_roge/status/1001527506158137344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthisisfutbol.com%2F2018%2F05%2Frumour-mill%2Fwest-ham-agree-13-1m-deal-to-sign-barcelona-defender-marlon%2F
The 22-year-old centre-back is currently on loan at Ligue 1 side Nice in France where he has starred at the heart of defence.
Marlon is under contract to the French top flight side until 2019 whilst his deal at the Nou Camp is due to run until 2020.
OPINION:
It would seem that a deal is nearing the latter stages so expect the Hammers to announce their second signing of the summer in the coming days (after Ryan Fredericks). The arrival of Marlon is an exciting one and suggests that under new club manager Manuel Pellegrini they will be more focused on youth. At just 22, Marlon is showing all the hallmarks it takes to succeed at the highest level of the game. He is composed on the ball, not scared too take on an attacker, and knows when to put his foot in too. A partnership at the back alongside Declan rice is a mouth-watering prospect. However, there is a concern over the player’s height. At just 5ft 9in, the Brazilian is not exactly about to strike fear into the hearts of opposing attackers so he will have to make up for that fact with talent alone. The Hammers were keen to get a lot of their business done prior to the start of the World Cup, so fans will not have long to wait now.