BARCELONA have received an offer of £17.4million for central defender Marlon Santos.
The news will excite fans of West Ham, who are the favourites to sign him.
Brazilian Marlon, 22, has been on loan at Nice.
The Ligue 1 club’s president Jean-Pierre Rivere announced the news, saying:
‘Barcelona have received a €20m offer for Marlon. He is therefore set to leave OGC Nice.’
SunSport reported how the Hammers have been in contact with the Catalan side after the defender’s impressive loan spell in France.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are now waiting to receive a formal offer from new east Londoners’ boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Santos made 21 league outings for Nice and has attracted interest from leading European clubs.
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But the Hammers have looked the most likely to secure his signature despite previous links to Leicester City.
The former Fluminense player has made just three appearances for Barcelona since signing on in 2016.
He agreed on a two-year loan deal with Nice in 2017, which included an option to buy.
Santos said: “I don’t know if anyone from Barcelona has come to see me this season, I don’t keep in touch with the club.
I’ve gained a lot of experience and I’ve played alongside great players.
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“I’ve grown a lot, I’ve completely changed my football mentality and that’s the most important thing.”
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Pellegrini took over from David Moyes at the London Stadium last week.
On arrival he signalled his attention to make “four or five signings”.
West Ham did not offer centre-back James Collins a deal so there is a place to fill in their back four.
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