Barcelona advancing in negotiations to sign Brazilian wonderkid, positive talks held

By this time it has become abundantly clear that Barcelona are intent on securing the signing of Brazilian wonderkid Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense in the summer.

The striker, who turned 18 recently, is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young footballers coming through the South American footballing scenes and has attracted interest from clubs like Chelsea, West Ham United, and PSG.

However, Barcelona appear to be the best-placed club to secure the teenager’s signing, with the player himself recently admitting that he is ready to sign for the Blaugrana.

But there is still the matter of reaching an agreement with Athletico Paranaense for his signing. And it seems like the Catalan giants have made some positive progress in that direction.

Indeed, according to Toni Juanmarti, Barcelona and Athletico Paranaense have advanced in negotiations over the transfer of Roque and the operation, despite being complicated, is moving forward.

The talks are understood to have progressed into the second phase beyond just the declaration and acknowledgment of interest from respective clubs.

With the negotiations moving forward positively, Athletico internally are already saying that Roque will be a Barcelona player next term.

Despite there being Fair Play restrictions on them, Barcelona have made it clear to the Brazilian club that they intend to sign Roque in an operation that will exceed €40 million, including variables.

On the other hand, Athletico are willing to make some concessions and offer a degree of flexibility when it comes to the terms of the deal such as lowering the fixed amount in the transfer fee and greenlighting the possibility of a loan deal this summer, with a purchase clause for 2024.

Such a move would mean that Barcelona will have to include his transfer fee in the calculations for the 2024/25 season and just need to find room for his salary in the next season’s calculations.

With Athletico willing to offer such flexibility, it seems only a matter of time before the two parties shake hands on the agreement for Roque. What it would also mean is that there could be one big sale made by Barcelona in the summer, given that they need to reduce their salary bill by €200 million.