Barcelona Defender Marlon Given Permission to Miss Training Ahead of Move to Nice

Barcelona have given Marlon permission to miss training ahead of his impending move to French side Nice.

The former Fluminense defender has been given the green light to pursue a move to last season's Ligue 1 third placed team, with Marlon not seen as part of Barcelona's first-team plans for this season.

Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti started Barca's 2-0 win over Alaves at the weekend, with Javier Mascherano on the substitutes bench, and Marlon will now be allowed to seek a move to Nice, who have lost three on their opening four Ligue 1 matches.

Barcelona's official Twitter account revealed Marlon has missed training ahead of his move to France, with Adria Albets via Santi Ovalle claiming the loan deal will be for two seasons and that the Catalan giants will be able to call the 21-year-old back after a year.

Nice can also make the deal a permanent one should Marlon impress at the Allianz Riviera, with the defender costing the club €20m if the loan goes well.

Maxime Le Marchand and Dante have started Nice's first four Ligue 1 games together at centre-back but have been unable to stop Lucien Favre's side losing three league games so far this season.

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Marlon made two La Liga appearances for Barcelona last season and also appeared as a substitute during the club's Champions League fixture against Celtic.

He has previously played for the Brazil Under-20 side, figuring 12 times for the youth side, and also made a host of appearances for Barcelona B.