Vitor Roque is Barcelona's chosen No 9
Vitor Roque is Barcelona's number one target to reinforce the position of '9' this summer. The young Brazilian striker, 18 years old, who is the great sensation of South American football, has passed all the filters set by Barca's technical team, starting with the scouting department and ending with the sporting leadership of the club with Mateu Alemany and Deco at the head, who is already preparing to take over the position left by Jordi Cruyff. 'Tigrinho' is the unanimous choice.
There is the conviction that Vitor Roque is a '9' with brutal physical and technical conditions that can mark an era at Barcelona. The 'Brazilian Luis Suárez' is a club bet. In sporting terms, there is no internal debate. He is seen as a perfect complement to Lewandowski, who is the undisputed starter, and with whom the newcomer will be able to learn a lot in his first season, which will be one of adaptation.
Deco's arrival in the club's sporting structure will speed up the negotiations to bring him in. The future Blaugrana director of football has a deep knowledge of the Brazilian market and months ago, when he was just an external advisor to Joan Laporta, he already warned about the evolution of Vitor Roque.
Deco himself has been gathering information for months with members of the sports management of Ath. Parananese -among which inclides Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was his coach in the Portuguese national team and Chelsea- about 'Tigrinho' and his behaviour in the dressing room.
The 'Furacao' player, and his family and professional entourage, already know what Barcelona's intentions are. They will do everything they can to force him to join the Blaugrana club, starting by blocking offers from English football that could materialise in the coming weeks. Arsenal and Chelsea have already made moves behind the scenes in recent months.
The timeline of his signing
The incorporation by Barça of the Brazilian striker, who already has 15 goals and 5 assists in 33 official games in this 2023, will be fundamentally subject to the sales that can be materialised in the coming weeks, both before June 30, to be counted in the current financial year, and from July 1.
Because of this situation, the negotiations between clubs for the transfer of 'Tigrinho' could take a few more weeks. All parties involved are aware of this scenario.
Barça are very clear about the timetable to be implemented before they start negotiating with Ath. Paranaense about the transfer price. The 'Furacao' had priced their 'No 9' at 30 million euros, plus five in variables.
Barça have already had the viability plan approved by La Liga, which details how they will obtain, in two years, 200 million euros between the reduction of expenses and new income.
