Arsenal’s Marquinhos joined Fluminense in February, signing for the Brazilian club on loan for the remainder of 2024. In their official reports on the move, Fluminense wrote that he was arriving with an option to buy.
Yet RTI Esporte claim the exact value of the option isn’t fixed, and still requires negotiation.
What’s more, there’s apparently a second clause that requires the release of Marquinhos from his loan if Arsenal accept a transfer offer from abroad this summer.
Fluminense then have the option to match that foreign proposal, but these clauses are still generating concern at the club. The Brazilian club are keen to keep the Arsenal loanee around, and worried that their inaction could see him moving elsewhere.
As a result, RTI Esporte claim Fluminense are holding talks to make Marquinhos’ loan permanent this summer, with a meeting planned at the beginning of June.
Yet it would be surprising for a club to have an option to buy without a fixed value, so it’s worth maintaining some scepticism with RTI Esporte’s claims.
The only supporting evidence is that the value of the option to buy was never revealed to the public, and some reports suggested it only existed “if certain clauses are met”.
Marquinhos has made 14 appearances for Fluminense already this season, often featuring at right-back. For the time being, he’s out of action, having suffered an injury last week.