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Malcom misses Barcelona training to seal move as Arsenal and Tottenham face disappointment
BARCELONA forward Malcom has missed training for the Catalan giants as he prepares to leave for Zenit St Petersburg in the coming days.
Barcelona squad trains for Joan Gamper match with Arsenal
Malcom has failed to live up to expectations since joining Barcelona from Bordeaux in 2018.
The 22-year-old made just 15 league appearances in his debut season in Spain after he decided to call off a move to Roma at the last possible moment.
Arsenal and Tottenham were understood to be interested in signing the former Brazil youth international in a cut-price deal, but look set to miss out.
Everton were another Premier League side that were linked with former Corinthians winger Malcom, who is now set for a move to the Russian Premier League.
ESPN’s Barcelona correspondent Samuel Marsden revealed details of the move on Twitter, which will come as good news to fans of Russian champions Zenit.
He said: “Malcom has agreed a five-year deal with Zenit, who will pay Barca €40m with €5m in possible add-ons.
“Barca will also receive a percentage of any future sale.”
He then added: “Malcom not training this morning. Barca confirm he’s finalising his move away from the club.”
The forward caught the eye of the European heavyweights after a fine 2017/18 season in France in which he scored 12 goals and notched seven assists.
La Liga champions Barca are set to make a small loss on their player by selling him for £36m (€40m) after signing him for £40m (€44m).
Malcom scored four goals in all competitions during his season in Spain, failing to win over Ernesto Valverde.
The influx of money from Malcom's sale could help them in their pursuit to resign Neymar, as his position at Paris Saint-Germain looks increasingly untenable.
PSG boss Thomas Tuchel spoke about the Brazil international earlier this week but said the matter was not in his hands.
He said: “I do not have information for you on Ney. He is one of our players.
“It's a question between the club and Neymar.
“For me, he's in the locker room and he's one of my players. Nothing new."