Arsenal are in talks with Brazilian club Cruzeiro over the loan of winger Marquinhos following the completion of his stint with Fluminense, football.london understands. While playing plenty of football, just under 2000 minutes of action, the Serie A club have opted against making the deal permanent despite having the option to do so.

Marquinhos managed two goals and three assists across 29 games in five competitions. With an injury at Arsenal to Bukayo Saka, some thought that the return in January of the 21-year-old could see him help fill the void left by the England international but this appears not to be the case.

Talks with Cruzeiro are understood to be ongoing to determine the details of the loan deal that would see Marquinhos return to his homeland. Arsenal want an obligation-to-buy clause included in the move so that it brings a close to the case of the player in north London.

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Arsenal concluded a similar deal with Lazio for Nuno Tavares in the summer. He joined the Italian club on loan with a clause that would see a purchase in the region of £7.5million if certain levels are met regarding appearances.

Tavares has impressed while in Italy, contributing eight assists in 13 games. His form has even earned him a first senior call-up to the Portuguese national side.

While some may look back on this now as Arsenal losing out on a bigger deal, ultimately his time in Marseille was not positive, nor was the subsequent loan move to Nottingham Forest which also contained a higher buy option. Similarly to Marquinhos, both loans will hope to see the players removed from the books indefinitely and the club will move on to players with longer term futures at the club.

This deal is of course being negotiated without sporting director Edu and is perhaps an opportunity for his interim replacement, Jason Ayto, to showcase his work leading the club’s transfer activities alongside manager Mikel Arteta. The club’s process to replace Edu remains ongoing.