Barcelona plan to start negotiations for Brazilian young striker Vitor Roque, who is also wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea, as per Mundo Deportivo.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano shared on Twitter (18 April) that Roque is looking to pick his future club soon. Barcelona are his favourite destination but several Premier League clubs including Arsenal have entered the race.
Mundo Deportivo claim that Roque’s father, Juvenal Ferreira, was in Barcelona two weeks ago with one of the player’s agents to meet with Barcelona chiefs.
During the meeting, the Catalan giants shared their vision for the Athletico Paranaense sensation.
Ferreira visited the club’s stadium and the museum and told Jordi Cruyff that his son would love to wear the Barcelona shirt.
Mundo add that a host of clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, AC Milan and Inter are vying for the 18-year-old’s signature. Ferreira has urged Barcelona to come down to Brazil and negotiate a deal with Athletico Paranaense.
Vitor Roque – Advantage Barcelona?
Romano claimed that Barcelona are yet to reach an agreement due to Financial Fair Play situation, but the Catalan giants feel that they can convince the Brazilian club to make payment facilities so that the operation can be done, as the player personally wants to move to Camp Nou.
One of Roque’s agents – André Cury – is a former Blaugrana employee, and thus Barcelona have an advantage in the race to sign the youngster.
TeamTalk reported earlier this month that both Arsenal and Chelsea have made progress in their attempt to sign the young striker who is valued at around £35m.
He has already scored four goals in seven games this season and also impressed for the Brazil U-20 side in the South American championship.
Mundo claim that among the Premier League clubs, Chelsea are most interested and they want to move quickly with a proposal. Arsenal are also pushing hard, and the “bidding” war continue for Roque.
It appears that Chelsea are determined to sign him. They need a new striker in the summer. While the Blues want to sign an experienced goalscorer they are also looking at young talents like Roque.
