Wolves plan Arsenal legal battle over murky Marquinhos transfer amid Sao Paolo deal revelation

Wolves are reportedly planning a legal battle with Arsenal and Sao Paolo after it emerged they had agreed a deal for Marquinhos before the Gunners.

The 19-year-old forward is a man in demand following his exciting rise with the Brazilian club. He signed a bumper contract at the age of 16, but those terms expire this summer.

And after making his mark in league and cup competitions for Sao Paolo, he has become a firm Arsenal target.

Indeed, the Gunners have reportedly sealed a £3million deal for Marquinhos. They will subsequently hand him a five-year deal and are looking to wrap the deal up quickly this summer.

However, the Daily Mail has now revealed how the deal’s progress has been stopped in its tracks.

Wolves supposedly got to Marquinhos first and have had a pre-contract agreement in place with him for a while.

Nevertheless, Sao Paolo opted to open fresh talks with Arsenal, who jumped at the chance to swoop in. Sao Paolo offered Marquinhos to the north London side for a ‘small fee’ and they obliged.

Wolves believe their agreement for the attacker is watertight, no matter what Sao Paolo will say.

The Molineux club’s deal for Marquinhos will reportedly activate on July 14, two days after his Sao Paolo deal runs out.

The transfer battle is therefore set to become a legal battle, potentially involving all the three clubs.

As such, despite Arsenal looking like they had the deal in their hands, it is now going back to square one.

Legal representatives will have to comb through the fine details of the deals agreed with Wolves and Arsenal.

Wolves, Arsenal after Marquinhos

Arsenal have a rich recent history of signing Brazilian players.

Recent recruits Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli are now first-team stars for manager Mikel Arteta.

Wolves, meanwhile, have built up a reputation for signing Portuguese-speaking talent from when Nuno Espirito Santo was at the club.

His fellow Portuguese Bruno Lage is now at the helm and looking to bolster his ranks after his debut season in the dugout.

Marquinhos is another exciting Brazilian talent and has made three outings for Brazil’s Under-17s side.

Both Wolves and Arsenal would do well to sign the teenager and it remains to be seen where he goes.