Vitor Roque Prioritising Barcelona Transfer, Has Blocked Premier League Offers
Vitor Roque is a man in demand in Europe following his exploits with Athletico Paranaense in Brazil. Barcelona are one of the strongest suitors pursuing the signing of the 18-year-old striker, while he continues to attract interest from English clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea.
Barça see Roque as the ideal candidate to cover for and compete with Robert Lewandowski in the centre-forward slot before eventually taking over as the main striker in the future.
To that end, they have been trying to find an agreement with his club over a transfer, but things have not been moving fast enough due to the Financial Fair Play situation.
Amidst this, Joaquim Piera of SPORT is reporting that Athletico Paranaense CEO Alexandre Mattos and Roque’s agent, Andre Cury, are in Barcelona to meet with the club today and push forward the negotiations for the striker’s transfer.
Roque is aware of the interest in him from clubs from the Premier League, who have much more financial leeway than Barça and can offer a bigger fee for him and a more lucrative contract as well.
However, as per the report, the 18-year-old Brazilian international is blocking all offers from the Premier League as he is prioritising a transfer to Barcelona in the summer. The teenager does not want to entertain the possibility of signing for any other club as things stand.
As such, Athletico’s CEO and Roque’s agent are in Barcelona to meet with club officials and make further progress in talks. Soon-to-be club sporting director Deco is leading the negotiations from the Catalans’ side and wishes to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
The report further states that the deal for the striker could reach around €45 million, including variables. However, the timeline of the transfer will be dictated by the Financial Fair Play situation of the La Liga champions.
The sooner they are able to make some sales, the sooner they can make moves for Roque and other targets in the market. If it is not possible in the summer, the possibility of signing the striker and leaving him on loan at Athletico Paranaense until January has not been ruled out either.
