Athletico Paranaense forward Vitor Roque is knocking on the doors of European football. The 17-year-old, who scored seven goals for his team last season, is a subject of interest for many top teams and Barcelona seem to be one of them.
So given the attentiveness the 17-year-old has generated, Athletico has decided not to set a price for their prized asset. In turn, they are ready to start an absolute bidding war next summer, reports Depredict.
It’s been reported that several top teams, especially from England, Italy, Germany and Spain are competing for the acquisition of the youngster. As for Barcelona, while they have been in the race since last season, they are yet to make a formal offer for the player.
It must be noted that Roque will turn 18 on February 28, meaning that he can finally pick up his bag and travel to Europe like most Brazilian footballers.
Eduardo Burgos Rodriguez, writing for the aforementioned outlet, sums up the entire story by writing that ‘a new soap opera is expected in the transfer market to find out which team will take the plunge and sign the pearl of Furaçao.’
Interestingly enough, while Barcelona have been out of the bidding process for now, Roque’s agent, Andre Cury, recently admitted that offers from England, Italy and Spain were recently rejected for the player.
“There was already a proposal, but it was rejected. There was an English club, I don’t want to name names, a Spanish club that already made an offer, an Italian one,” he said.
“We got more or less a value of €25 million, and we immediately rejected it, because I understand that the player has a higher value than that, even because some players were sold in Brazil for €20 million,” he added.
The story of Roque’s explosion in Brazil is only a year old, to say the least. But in only one season, the 17-year-old has gone on to become a top target for European teams. Now, the expectations are indeed high, but it remains to be seen which team picks the youngster as the bidding war is now open.
