Barcelona confirm Brazilian defender Marlon Santos's deal

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Bengaluru, June 16: Barcelona have confirmed their first signing of the season after they agreed to take up the option to keep Marlon Santos at the Club permanenting his loan deal.

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The 21-year-old joined Barcelona on loan from Fluminense last season and was handed his Barcelona debut in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage match against Celtic after being on the bench in the loss to Manchester City.

The defender also made only two first-team appearances in the last two matches in the league for the Spanish giants.

However, the defender was a regular in Gerard Lopez's Barcelona B side where he played 24 times last term and impressed his coaches which eventually made the deal permanent.

There were reports that Real Betis are interested in a loan deal for the youngster however, the new Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has reportedly been gallantly impressed with the Brazilian and considered him as the first-team option for next season.

The defender signed a three-year contract with the Catalan club and fee for the player is believed to be in the region of €5 million.

However, Barcelona will only have to pay €2m as they paid Fluminense €4m to have the first option on Gerson (€3.2m), Kenedy (€400,000) and Marlon (€400,000). Although Gerson and Kenedy later went to sign for Roma and Chelsea respectively.

The Spanish giants announced the news on their official website stating:

"Marlon Santos will continue at FC Barcelona.

"The club has communicated this Wednesday to the Brazilian player who will apply the clause stipulated in his contract and that will be linked to the Barca entity the next three seasons."

This signing could now well end the tenure of Jeremy Mathieu's career at the Nou Camp. The 34-year-old has been a bit player since joining from Valencia in 2014 and set to leave the club, with Greek side Olympiacos a potential suitor.

After Marlon's signature, Barcelona could still sign a central defender this summer and have been linked with a move for Ajax's Davinson Sanchez.

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