Al Nasr expect to ‘close the deal’ for Brazilian Roma midfielder Marquinho

Al Nasr’s summer rebuild is set to continue with the signing of Marquinho from AS Roma.

Marquinho, left, is on the verge of a move to the Arabian Gulf League with Al Nasr.  Filippo Monteforte / AFP
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DUBAI // Al Nasr’s summer rebuild is set to continue with the signing of Marquinho from AS Roma.

The President’s Cup champions have had a bid accepted for the Brazilian attacking midfielder, 28, and are confident negotiations regarding the player’s salary will reach a swift conclusion.

Roma had requested €2 million (Dh8.2m) for Marquinho, who they recruited initially on loan from Fluminense in 2012, but he has since been loaned to Verona and then to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad. Nasr, though, originally offered half the asking price.

The two clubs eventually reached a compromise for the permanent transfer, leaving Marquinho to finalise his financial package with the Dubai side. He will then conduct his medical in Italy, with Nasr expecting to confirm the deal within the next two to three days.

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“We’re just waiting for some information from Roma and then we’ll close the deal,” a Nasr official said. “We already have an approval from the Italian club to start the negotiations.

“He’s an excellent player, a very exciting signing and we’ll be lucky to have him. He is versatile – can play on the left or as a second striker – so it’s a good deal. When everything is done we’ll announce it officially.”

Marquinho spent last season on loan at Ittihad, where he performed well to score nine goals in 26 matches. However, the two parties clashed once problems arose regarding the late payment of wages. Marquinho departed the Jeddah club last month.

He will join Luis Jimenez at Nasr after the former Al Ahli midfielder agreed to a two-year deal. It marks a remodelling of the club’s foreign contingent ahead of next season, when Nasr have targeted a sustained challenge for the Arabian Gulf League title. The Al Maktoum Stadium side lifted both the Arabian Gulf Cup and the President’s Cup this year, and view the league as an obvious next objective. They last were crowned UAE champions in 1986.

Jimenez takes the place of Brett Holman, the Australian who was allowed to leave last month for Emirates club. Marquinho replaces Pablo Hernandez, the Spaniard on loan from Qatar’s Al Arabi, while Nasr will then decide on the futures of Ibrahima Toure and Renan Garcia. Toure has numerous offers from clubs inside and outside the UAE.

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