West Ham United remain in pole position to sign Barcelona defender Marlon Santos after a lull in transfer proceedings, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish newspaper report in their Monday print edition, as translated by Sport Witness, that talks are ongoing with just the small details of the transfer needing to be finalised.
Mundo Deportivo do however claim that another Premier League side are now interested in the 22-year-old Brazil youth international enforcer, who stands at 6ft [Transfermarkt].
Good move for West Ham?
This is a strange one from West Ham’s point of view, with the club obviously keen to reinforce defensively this summer.
Marlon has been linked with the Hammers for several weeks now, and the initial excitement over the deal was tempered when a report emerged to suggest the club were having doubts about his ability to play in the Premier League.
A long lull in reports followed before Monday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo, which seems to suggest that a deal is still on between the two clubs.
The touted figure is around the £18million mark, which is a decent fee, but do the Hammers really need another centre-back after signing Issa Diop?
Forever West Ham rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
It had looked like this deal was off the table, but the Hammers are seemingly still in talks over a deal for Marlon.
This reported interest from another Premier League side may however pose problems if the club fail to wrap things up soon.
This week looks like it will be an important one for the club if they are indeed serious about signing the Brazilian, with Barcelona sure to peddle their man to other clubs if the Hammers do not advance negotiations any further.
Forever West Ham rating: 5/10
