Arsenal’s deal to sell Marquinhos to Cruzeiro has progressed this week as the Gunners accepted a longer instalment plan for the Brazilian side.
That’s [according to journalist Jorge Nicola](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTqS_r9JJAA), who confirms reports that Cruzeiro are closing in on a permanent move for the Arsenal man.
Reports at the end of this week have indicated that Cruzeiro and Arsenal are working on a deal for Marquinhos, who is currently on loan at the Brazilian club.
That loan deal includes a clause that will turn it into a permanent move if he plays a certain number of games. However, he’s been left out of action this month as they were unconvinced on signing the 22-year-old.
They had sought to re-negotiate the terms of the deal with Arsenal, hoping for an extension to further assess the forward before moving forwards.
That has changed, though, with reports in Brazil stating that Arsenal and Cruzeiro are now working on a €3m deal for the player this summer.
That sudden change in plans certainly left some scratching their heads, but Nicola explains it came because of Cruzeiro manager Leonardo Jardim and Arsenal accepting a different pay structure.
“It’s time to talk about Cruzeiro, which is closing the deal to buy a player who was not in coach Leonardo Jardim’s plans until the week before last,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“This is the case of Marquinhos, a forward who belongs to Arsenal and was on loan until December and is one game away from reaching the goal, with the obligation to buy him at Leonardo Jardim’s option. Cruzeiro even kept Marquinhos out of several games.
“The idea was not to buy the player until Leonardo Jardim decided to give him a chance in last weekend’s match. He liked what he saw of Marquinhos in training. Marquinhos also did well.
“And from then on, Cruzeiro reestablished talks with Arsenal. In an attempt to reduce the purchase price, the purchase option is valued at €3m or 19 million reais. Arsenal did not agree to a reduction but agreed to a slightly longer instalment plan, and that is how the purchase will be made. Marquinhos will sign with Cruzeiro until December 2028.”