Arsenal 'seal £3m deal for Sao Paulo's Marquinhos'

Since breaking into the first team last year, the 19-year-old has already made 39 senior appearances for the Brazilian outfit, scoring four goals and setting up three more in the process.

A breakthrough 2021 season saw Marquinhos make 21 appearances in the Brazilian Serie A - starting five of them - while he also claimed a goal and assist in the last-16 of the Copa Libertadores against Racing Club.

The teenager has already gained experience in the Copa Sudamericana during the early stages of the 2022 season, and he has been capped three times by Brazil at Under-17 level.

The youngster's deal with the Serie A side is not due to expire until the summer of 2024, but according to Sport Witness, Arsenal are set to land him on a cut-price fee due to complications surrounding the contract.

The winger signed that five-year agreement back in 2019 when he was only 16 years old, and as a result, FIFA have only allowed the club to keep him for three years given his underage status.

Furthermore, with the threat of legal action from the player's side, Sao Paulo are under pressure to sell him now before losing him on a free - allowing Arsenal to quickly swoop in.

The report claims that a fee of €3.5m (£3m) has already been agreed between the two clubs, but Mikel Arteta is not expected to integrate him into the squad next season.

Marquinhos can supposedly expect to be sent out on loan in order to continue his development, with a temporary switch to Spain the most likely scenario for the 2022-23 campaign.

However, an impressive pre-season period could yet convince Arteta to hand Marquinhos an opportunity to break into the first team next year, as was the case with Gabriel Martinelli.

Marquinhos follows Martinelli to the Emirates after the latter signed as an 18-year-old in 2019, going on to register 17 goals and 12 assists in 82 games for the club so far.

A versatile attacker, Marquinhos is comfortable on the left or right-hand side of the attack, and his arrival comes amid speculation surrounding Nicolas Pepe's future.

With the former Lille man falling down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta and continuing to struggle for opportunities, Sevilla have reportedly taken an interest in a swap deal for the Ivorian involving Lucas Ocampos.

Such a switch would leave Marquinhos to battle Ocampos, Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe for starting berths next term unless he secures a loan move abroad.

Arsenal's first signing of the summer window comes as they seek to hold off the threat of Tottenham Hotspur for Champions League football, with the Lilywhites now only one point behind after a 3-0 North London derby thumping.