A West Ham United insider has confirmed that the club hold genuine interest in a deal to sign Brazilian defender Marlon Santos from Barcelona.
ExWHUemployee, who is an established source of insider Hammers information on Twitter, posted to the social media site on Tuesday claiming that the deal was not completed but the club’s interest in the Brazilian was genuine.
It’s not completed but apparently our interest is genuine I will talk about him and another couple of targets on the show tomorrow https://t.co/UUw2pKL0lw
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) May 29, 2018
The Hammers have been heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old defender in recent days, with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claiming the club were in pole position to sign him.
Nice president Jean Pierre Rivere revealed on Tuesday that an £18million bid had been tabled for Marlon, who spent 2017/18 on loan at the club, as quoted by Nice Matin.
OPINION
This would be a real statement of intent from Manuel Pellegrini as he establishes himself as manager at the London Stadium. Marlon impressed during his season on loan at Nice and looks a real talent, so for West Ham to snap him up so emphatically would be a strong move from the Chilean. There is still much room for improvement for the 22-year-old, but to play for Barcelona you need some kind of talent, and West Ham will no doubt be getting a brilliant player. It is massively encouraging for fans to see Pellegrini so active in the market within days of taking over, and this could set the Hammers up for an exciting summer. Defence was always an area that was going to need changes in the coming months, with the club conceding a joint league-high 68 goals in 2017/18, and Pellegrini looks to be already making those necessary moves.
