While the players at FC Barcelona continue to hone their skills, others away from the club work on theirs as well. Not every player that belongs to the Catalan club is currently in their squad, and some have already been sent away on loan. Fortunately for Barcelona, it would seem that their development is ultimately going well.
The primary subject of most discussions about Barça’s loanees is usually Vitor Roque these days. Once a very hyped-up transfer from Brazil that the Catalan club invested a lot of money in, he is now trying to adjust to the fundamentals of European football at a different club for this season and possibly even the next one.
Now at Real Betis, the 19-year-old Barcelona loanee is currently learning from a veteran mind of the game in Manuel Pellegrini. While he has been quite impressive so far while playing for the Andalusian team in La Liga, there are some areas where he could improve.
At least, that is what his coach at Real Betis seems to think after having seen him in action during his first few games. After the most recent victory over Getafe, a game in which Roque was once again quite involved, Pellegrini’s words following the match made a lot of sense.
As highlighted by SPORT, the former Manchester City coach stated that he believed that the €30 million-rated Brazilian forward’s movement and energy, although quite useful, can be put to better use through a more clinical version of the player:
“Vitor is young, but he spent many months in Barcelona working without playing, and he is gradually getting back into shape. It’s more about precision than physicality.”
That makes sense as well, given that Roque was a bit wasteful with his chances in the game. However, while the Barcelona loanee did help his team score both of the goals that they did manage to score, albeit somewhat accidentally, it seems that Pellegrini is convinced that he can help the player improve.
In the long run, this would be beneficial to Barcelona themselves. They may not have been able to get the best out of the player by themselves, but this loan could allow at least Real Betis to potentially help the player adjust much better to European football and help improve his level.
