Barca convinced that Vitor Roque will not escape them

Barcelona believe there will not be another Endrick case with Vitor Roque, the Ath. Paranaense No 9 who turns 18 at the end of this month and who is on the list of possible signings for next summer. The 'Brazilian Luis Suárez' would arrive at Barça to fill the role as Robert Lewandowski understudy and grow under the tutelage of the Polish striker, who has scored 23 goals in 26 games since joining.

Barcelona did not enter the bidding for Endrick, because the Palmeiras wonderkid will only be able to make it to Europe in July 2024 when he reaches the age of 18 and his acquisition required an investment of 35 million euros immediately, which the club could not do. Barça's planning is still in a phase of sporting and economic reconstruction and the club are without the possibility of thinking in the medium term.

With Roque, Barça hope for a different ending. The position of the staff is different when it comes to analysing the striker because this time in the summer, a gap for a No 9 must be filled.

The 'Furacao' have valued their player at 30 million euros plus variables that can reach 5 million, a price determined precisely by the sale of Endrick to Madrid. 

The club presided over by Mario Celso Petraglia, a very tough nut to crack in any negotiation, would accept deferred payments when it comes to getting rid of their rising star, which is vital for Barça.

 An imaginative formula will be needed to fit the signing into next season's Financial Fair Play, 2023-24.

The success of the signing of Vitor Roque depends on the complicity of the player and his family, and his agent, André Cury, the former executive of Barca working in South America for more than a decade. Only with a firm stance from the No 9 and his entourage will it be feasible for him to land at Montjüic stadium next season.

Without the determination of 'Tigrinho', as the player is called in Brazil, to join, Barcelona will not be able to fight the appetite of Premier League clubs, with much more financial muscle. 

Barça have moved quickly with Deco, external advisor to president Laporta, taking advantage of his friendship with Luiz Felipe Scolari, who is now the football coordinator of the 'Furacao'. The groundwork has already been laid. And the ex-Blaugrana midfielder has found a trustworthy interlocutor with whom he has a great friendship.

Vitor Roque has passed all the filters of the sports staff. His spectacular Under-20 South American Championship, in which he's scored six goals in six appearances, has reinforced everything that was already seen in his debut in the Copa Libertadores 2022, when he was the competition's "revelation". 

He is a predator in the box, with very good technical skills, ambidextrous when it comes to finishing, who can work on both sides of the attack, who plays for the team and who is the first to start the pressing up top. He has a great capacity for leadership, despite his youth, because of his winning mentality.