Barcelona could be staring at the possibility of losing yet another transfer battle to a Premier League side, as SPORT has revealed that the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have established contacts with young forward Vitor Roque.
Roque, 18, knows that his immediate future passes from Europe and for that, nothing apart from the Spanish La Liga and the English Premier League interests him.
In Spain, Barcelona are the sole enquirer, but as many as two teams from England are ready to fight for his acquisition. As SPORT reports, Roque’s father and his agent are currently in London where they have established several contacts.
Among those are Arsenal, who happen to be the strongest bidder all thanks to the presence of their sports director and mentor, Edu Gaspar.
It is said that Edu is in permanent contact with Roque’s representatives and he is ready to offer the player a project that is on the rise. In addition, the 18-year-old will certainly adapt fast given the presence of Gabriel Magalhaes, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus in the dressing room.
Interestingly enough, both Arsenal and Chelsea have no financial limitations. This means unlike Barcelona, both are very much capable of paying the transfer fee upfront and not in instalments.
The Blues, for instance, have already spent nearly €270 million on just three U-23 players, including Enzo Fernández from Benfica, Wesley Fofana from Leicester City and Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakthar.
Those sitting in Chelsea’s offices see Roque as the ‘Brazilian Luis Suarez’ and believe his profile fits perfectly into their scheme of betting on young, long-term footballers.
Let’s not forget, at Chelsea, the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubmeyang is certain in the summer and their technical director, Christopher Vivell, has been tasked to look for a new striker ahead of the new season.
In all, everything is pointing towards a potential move to the Premier League as despite Barcelona’s interest, Roque’s representatives are not setting aside other offers. Add to it the Blaugrana’s financial troubles and one can very well watch the deal slipping away.
