Transfer Profile: Marquinhos

Marquinhos

Transfer Profile: Marquinhos

By Tom Masters

The Premier League season is approaching its final weekend and while there is still much to play for, managers, players and fans will be casting an eye on the summer transfer window and who their team can sign ahead of next year. 

For Arsenal and Mikel Arteta this is no different, with the club set to continue their recent trend of spending big. 

It appears the Gunners have failed in their bid for Champions League football but there will be a return to European football, with a consolation fifth placed finish seeing them return to the Europa League after a year away from continental action.

Now they are set to prepare their squad to be able to cope with the busier fixture list, as well as looking to earn their place back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 season.

One such player the club seem to be very close to signing is Sao Paulo winger Marquinhos, who according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano will join the Gunners on a five-year deal for £3m.

The Brazilian is just 19-years-old and is thought to be a signing Arteta would develop, in much the same way he has with Gabriel Martinelli, who has quickly become one of Arsenal’s key attacking weapons. 

Martinelli came from Sao Paulo’s rivals Ituano in 2019 and has blossomed into one of the most promising attackers in the Premier League. 

Marquinhos has played 40 times for Sao-Paulo, although 31 of those appearances have been as a replacement, scoring four goals and assisting three times, while he has also represented Brazil U17s three times. 

He signed a five-year deal with Sao Paulo in 2019, but that was ruled to be a three-year deal by FIFA due to it being his first professional contract.

The player has since refused to sign a new deal with his boyhood club and was as a result left out of the squad to face Cuiaba on Sunday, allowing Arsenal to secure his services for such a small fee.

He is likely to be one of several new arrivals at The Emirates this summer and it is entirely possible that he will not be the only Brazilian arriving either, with Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus being heavily linked with a move to London after The Citizens signed Erling Håland.

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