Nantes are attempting to hijack an Olympiacos move to sign Marquinhos on loan for the coming campaign, according to reports.

On Wednesday, Ryan Taylor of the Express reported that Arsenal winger Marquinhos looked set to join Olympiacos on a season-long loan deal, following his short-term spell with Norwich City last season.

But reports on Thursday then suggested FC Nantes could be looking to snatch the deal away from the Greek giants.

Foot Mercato claimed Nantes are very interested in Marquinhos, and they’re also considering a loan for the winger.

Ryan Taylor then confirmed that Nantes are attempting to hijack Olympiacos’ loan move, despite the loan to Greece reaching the final stages of negotiations.

Marquinhos has been with Mikel Arteta’s squad in pre-season, most recently coming on as a substitute in the Emirates Cup game on Wednesday.

But Fabio Vieira has generally been preferred as an alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right wing, and Reiss Nelson and Leandro Trossard can play backup to Gabriel Martinelli, so Marquinhos’ best chance of regular minutes is another loan.

As mentioned, the 20-year-old spent the second half of last season with Norwich City, but it was only a brief spell involving eight starts for the side.

After that loan, Marquinhos impressed at the u20 World Cup in late May, scoring once and assisting twice in his five games.

Marquinhos needs a little more consistency in his next loan, and it looks like he has a couple of good options on the table.

Nantes play in Ligue 1, where Folarin Balogun made such an impression last season, whilst Olympiacos are looking to qualify for this season’s Europa League – playing their qualifier against Genk next week.