Sky Sports reports that Southampton have approached Barcelona with a £10m bid for their centre-back, Marlon Santos. The final transfer amount could rise to £12m if additional bonuses are dealt out to the player and his representatives. After just one season in the Ligue 1, Barcelona has chosen to recall Santos for his two-year loan agreement with OGC Nice.
The 22-year-old’s contract with the La Liga champions is set to run till the summer of 2020 but the player is unlikely to feature much for the club’s senior team. Santos picked up crucial first experience with the French outfit, making 27 appearances to help the side to the 8th spot of the top-flight.
Ernesto Valverde will almost definitely be relying on Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Thomas Vermaelen and Yerry Mina, all international starters for their respective countries, for the upcoming season.
Barcelona signed Santos on loan from Fluminense in the summer of 2016. After impressing on his first season out on loan at the Camp Nou, the Brazilian was signed permanent last summer on a four-year deal.
He made his professional debut for the Blaugrana in the UEFA Champions League fixture against Celtic and also appeared in 27 games for the club’s B side. The 22-year-old has been capped 12 times for the Brazil U20 side.
Sadly, his prospects did not pan in the Spanish top-flight but it could all change at St Mary’s. At 22, he still has the years in front of him to develop into a prominent figure in the Southampton club ranks.
He can hit the ground running on his arrival or be able to learn from top professionals like Maya Yoshida and Wesley Hoedt as an understudy. Mark Hughes miraculously saved the Saints from relegation last term and is eager to make improvements to the squad ahead of the 2018/19 season.
The South Coast outfit should consider themselves lucky for still maintaining their Premier League status. If it were not for Manuel Gabbiadini’s goal against Swansea in the 37th game week, they very well could be preparing for life in the Championship than the English first division.
They have already signed Mohamed Elyounoussi and Stuart Armstrong in the past month and also sold off Dusan Tadic to Ajax. Now the defence needs to patched up, especially the massive crater left by Virgil van Dijk when he departed for Liverpool in January.
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Ever since the Dutchman quit the St. Mary’s, Southampton have looked even more vulnerable than usual at the back. Signing a promising youngster could go a long way in helping their cause next term.
