Barcelona activate operation to bring Brazilian wonderkid to the club this summer

Barcelona have activated the operation to advance the arrival of Brazilian prodigy Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense this summer itself, reports Roger Torello of Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona secured the signing of Roque from Athletico earlier this summer in a deal worth €30 million plus another €31 million in variables.

The young striker has signed a contract with the club until 2031, but it was agreed that he would remain in Brazil for another year as Barça had problems with their Financial Fair Play situation and registering him could become tricky.

But the imminent exits of Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie, coupled with the revenue from the sale of stakes in Barça Studios is likely to create enough margin for Barça to accommodate Roque now itself.

Athletico’s Copa Libertadores exit opens the door

As a result, Barcelona had been considering advancing Roque’s arrival to the club this summer itself.

The 18-year-old striker himself is understood to be keen on making the move, but it depended on Athletico Paranaense, who had hopes of succeeding in the Copa Libertadores.

However, the Brazilian club were eliminated from the competition at the Round of 16 by Bolivar on Tuesday night, which opened the door for Barça to proceed with the operation.

Roque’s agent, Andre Cury, had been in Barcelona recently but has now flown back to Brazil in order to help mediate negotiations between the two clubs over the move.

Athletico still wish to hold on to Roque at least until December as they want to make a firm push to qualify for the next season’s Copa Libertadores.

But, Barça want Roque to arrive now to reinforce the attack following Dembele’s exit. The 18-year-old is capable of playing as a No. 9 or on the flank and has had an excellent year, which is why Xavi & co. are keen on having him onboard.

Deco and Cury will now try and persuade Athletico Paranaense to give Roque up right now and it will be interesting to see whether the Brazilian club can be convinced or not.