The race to sign the latest hot property from Brazil is underway with a number of top European clubs competing to land Vitor Roque, a report claims.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the Athletico Paranaense forward is a concrete target for Barcelona and he made his debut for Brazil at just 18 years old in their recent friendly against Morocco, but he will not decide his future until next July while waiting to know what Barca’s financial situation will be like.
Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG, Milan and Inter are also very interested in the teenager, who now has a price tag of €40m including bonuses and variable, and Athletico Paranaense sense the chance to make big money given they paid just $5m to sign him.
At just 17 years old, Roque became the revelation of the Copa Libertadores with Paranaense, with whom he will play the final against Flamengo. He wants Barcelona, and Athletico Paranaense would be willing to negotiate on certain formulas such as a loan with obligation to buy.
However, in order to agree to those terms the price could well rise from €40m to €50m and beyond, while it remains to be seen how much spending power the Catalan side will have for the next couple of years.