Future Barcelona forward Vitor Roque wants to be a present Barcelona forward.
The 18-year-old Brazilian is keen to bring forward his move to Barcelona this summer. According to Javi Miguel of Diario AS, Roque wants to join the club ahead of time following the imminent departure of Ousmane Dembele.
🚨 BREAKING: Vitor Roque wants to come NOW. If Athletico Paranaense are eliminated from the Copa Libertadores before August 31st, he will be incorporated IMMEDIATELY. @fansjavimiguel 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/exGPrshFRP
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 2, 2023
When Barcelona announced the deal, worth €30m plus €31m in variables, they claimed he would join in the summer of 2024 at the latest, although many reports claimed they were keen to have him in January, after the Brazilian season finishes.
As per Sport, any deal will depend on two key factors. Athletico Paranaense will not allow him to depart while they are still in the Copa Libertadores. Currently they find themselves 3-1 down from the first leg against Bolivar in the Round of 16. They will still feel they have a good chance of overturning that deficit in Curitiba, when the return leg takes place on the 9th of August.
Vitor Roque quiere venir ya. El club esta esperando eliminatorias de la Copa Libertadores. Si los eliminan antes del 31 de agosto, se incorporara de manera inmediata. La marcha de Dembele deja un hueco arriba que se considera cubierto con el brasileño, pese a no ser extremo
— Javi Miguel Club (@fansjavimiguel) August 2, 2023
The second factor is Barcelona’s ability to fit him within their salary limit. It is not yet clear either how much space Barcelona have – they are still yet to register a number of new signings and new contracts – nor how much more Dembele’s move will give them.
Equally, it will depend on whether Barcelona want to prioritise the space they do have on Roque. Xavi and the club have reportedly decided they want three more signings this summer in an ideal world, and it seems likely that Roque’s move will tie up a lot of the money that could potentially be used for those deals.
It seems more likely that Barcelona prioritise other needs, such as the right-back spot first, and then re-assess the situation and their financial means during the final stages of the window.
I would love this to happen especially having watched Lewandowski so far in pre season looking really sluggish and slow but sadly i can’t see it happening,if it were up to me i would cancel marcos alonso’s contract renewal asap especially after his pre season showings so far along with canceling sergino dests contract who has also been horrific it wouldn’t be much money saved probably but it would help a little bit more to fit in victor roque although i can’t see his current club agreeing to this anytime soon either.