Barcelona allowed Marlon to join Nice on a two-year loan deal last summer. His displays for the French club attracted interest from West Ham United and they want to sign him on a permanent transfer this summer.
The June 11th edition of Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported the Hammers are “very close” to completing a deal for the Brazilian defender. However, Marlon’s move to the Premier League sounds like it’s taken a step backwards, according to today’s report from the same publication.
Mundo Deportivo now claim that Barcelona are demanding €25m to part ways with their player in the summer transfer window.
The Hammers are looking to sign Marlon for around €15m, so there’s clearly a big gap between the two club. The delay in the deal being agreed between the two clubs is “hurting the player”.
Should all these claims be true, it really doesn’t feel like West Ham’s fault here. A fee of €25m would be way over the top, and today’s version of Sport, another Catalan newspaper, values the player at €15m.
On May 30th, Sport reported Barcelona would accept a €15m offer from West Ham.
