For those who aren’t aware of the situation. AS reporting he will be a Saint in next couple of days. £10m rising to £12m.
I've never seen him play. I'd never heard of him until a few days ago. But if Barcelona saw something in him to buy him, that's a good enough recommendation for me.
I was reading the comments on one of his youtube videos and loads of Barcelona fans thought he was going to be immense one day... ...as a right back.
Just been over to Saintsweb to get their expert insight into Marlon. They have already decided he is **** as he is only 5ft 11. I can't recall ever seeing him play (although I'm sure I have at some point as I watch a fair bit of French football), which is probably a good thing from a centre back.
Cedric's contract runs out in 2020, so that means we would either have to sell next season or renew long term. Cedric's been pretty good, but not so good I don't think we can improve. I don't know much about this Marlon dude, but it sounds like he is quite promising but may need some time. So I think it's good to have a potential competition for spaces and the ability to move Cedric on. Maybe we go three at the back this year, and see how it works out. Or have a couple different formations and Marlon could end up playing some CB and some RB should Cedric need a rest or get hurt, or in certain games where we need less going forward maybe and more defensive presence. I hope that this is not our big CB move. But OTOH, it's never bad to sign up talented young players for the future. I don't think we should be looking to offload Cedric and hopefully he stays. If it works out that way, I think this is a pretty decent move.
If Cedric has two years left, we might be more likely to sell this summer. We’ve tended to do that in the past as we can get a better fee compared to when the player only has one year left - Clyne being a good example (and Wanyama, I think).