Barcelona plan to sign teenage wonderkid for €45 million, could delay his arrival until January

It is no secret that Barcelona have their sights fixed on Athletico Paranaense wonderkid Vitor Roque heading into the summer transfer window.

Reports earlier this week indicated that an agreement had been reached to sign the 18-year-old striker in a €40 million deal. However, Fabrizio Romano dismissed those claims stating that there was nothing agreed, but negotiations were ongoing between the two clubs.

Now, though, Roger Torello of Mundo Deportivo has come up with a fresh update on the matter, stating that Barcelona intend to sign Roque this summer no matter what. However, his arrival might be delayed depending on the Financial Fair Play situation at the club.

The Blaugrana sports management, and head coach Xavi Hernandez are convinced that the 18-year-old is the ideal candidate to cover for and eventually replace Robert Lewandowski as the main striker at the club.

However, the top priority for the La Liga champions heading into the summer is the signing of a new pivot midfielder, an interior midfielder, a left-winger in case Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres are sold, and a right-back.

Once these positions are addressed and there are player exits, opening up enough Fair Play margin, Barça will consider signing and incorporating Roque this summer itself.

However, in case there is not enough margin, Barcelona will sign the 18-year-old, so as to avoid the risk of losing him to a different club, but let him stay on loan at Athletico Paranaense until the January transfer window.

The report states that Barcelona expect the operation to be worth around €35 million (fixed) plus €10 million in variables, taking the total cost of the deal to €45 million. Furthermore, it is claimed that the 18-year-old would be on a salary worth around €3 million per year.

The Catalan giants believe that such an arrangement could win over Athletico as they would get to keep Roque for the final stages of the 2023 season, meaning he could be involved in the latter phase of the Copa Libertadores.

It would also allow time for Barcelona to sort out their Financial Fair Play situation and bring in Roque in the winter.