West Ham have reportedly sealed a deal for a Barcelona defender

The move will reportedly set them back £13 million

West Ham United are reportedly set to seal a deal to sign Barcelona's Brazilian centre-back Marlon after beating off competition from both Nice and Leicester. The 22-year-old signed for the Catalan side in 2017 after spending part of the 2016/17 season on loan at both Barcelona B and the senior side, and has spent last season on loan at Nice. While his Nice move was intended to be a two-year loan, it now appears that he will be playing his football next season at the London Stadium. https://twitter.com/albert_roge/status/1001527506158137344 Nice's president Jean-Pierre Riviere had earlier admitted that Barcelona had received an offer and that the player's loan spell was likely over, and in a report today, Spanish sports newspaper SPORT revealed that a deal to take Marlon to West Ham was almost complete. The signing will be Manuel Pellegrini's first as West Ham manager, with the club also expected to either extend or make their loan signing of Portugal midfielder Joao Mario permanent in the near future.