Having missed out on the capture of Endrick to Real Madrid, Barcelona have set their sights on another Brazilian wonderkid in the form of Vitor Roque of Athletico Paranaense.
The 17-year-old centre-forward has been impressing onlookers in Brazil with his performances for his club. And he has drawn even more eyeballs thanks to his exploits at the South American U-20 Championship, where he is representing the Selecao.
Vitor Roque has scored five goals in six games for Brazil U-20 in the competition, leading the charge for his team.
Barcelona have been eyeing the 17-year-old for a while now and his performances in the South American U-20 Championship will only have strengthened their resolve to sign the youngster.
And, according to SPORT’s Joaquim Piera, Barcelona are already drawing up strategies to make the signing of Vitor Roque feasible in the summer transfer window.
The striker will be turning 18 later this month, meaning he can move to Europe in the summer. And Barcelona see him as a player who is ready to make the leap to the club before the next season kicks off.
The report further adds that Roque, nicknamed ‘Tigrinho’ in his homeland, would be ‘delighted’ to join Barça and learn from a top striker like Robert Lewandowski.
This comes after it was reported that the 17-year-old Brazilian would be prepared to snub interest from the likes of PSG and Chelsea to move to Camp Nou.
Previous reports have suggested that Athletico Paranaense could demand a sum of €30 million plus add-ons for the striker. It has also been reported that the Brazilian outfit would be open to accepting the payment in three instalments, making the operation feasible for Barça.
With both parties seemingly keen on making the move happen, talks could begin soon especially with Barcelona also having close ties with the striker’s agent Andre Cury.