Former Newcastle United transfer target helps new club to historic Serie A win against Juventus

Former Newcastle United transfer target Marlon Santos has helped newly-promoted Monza to a historic Serie A win against Juventus.

The Brazilian centre-back was with Barcelona when former Magpies manager Rafa Benitez looked to secure his services on a season-long loan deal during the summer of 2018.

The move reportedly fell through after Marlon failed to meet the requirements to be granted a work permit and Benitez turned his attention towards completing a deal for Swansea City defender Federico Fernandez.

Santos went on to spend the season with Ligue 1 club Nice before joining Italian side Sassuolo in a deal that could have cost the Serie A club around £7million if the defender made 50 appearances.

He met that mark before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in a £10.8million deal last summer.

However, he returned to Italy when he joined Serie A newcomers Monza on a season-long loan last month and made his debut in a 3-2 Coppa Italia win over second tier side Frosinone.

The opening month of the league season has not been easy with five consecutive defeats against Torino, Napoli, Udinese, Roma and Atalanta.

A first point was secured in a 1-1 draw at Lecce last week before Marlon played a key role in his side’s shock 1-0 win against Juventus on Sunday afternoon.

Facing a Juve side containing the likes of former Manchester United winger Angel di Maria and £64million striker Dusan Vlahovic, Monza put in a determined display to claim a historic win against one of European football’s greatest clubs with a second-half goal from substitute Christian Gytkjr.