Although not much transfer activity is expected from the club, there is a lot of excitement about the upcoming winter transfer window at FC Barcelona. Vitor Roque is the only player who is almost sure to join Xavi’s ranks in the winter, and the club is putting a lot of hope in the promising youngster.
As Mundo Deportivo has noted, the Catalan club believes that the first team is suffering mainly from a lack of effectiveness in front of the goal and is hoping that Vitor Roque’s arrival will mitigate this problem to a good extent.
Barcelona believe the games against Girona and Valencia could have been won if only the frontmen were more clinical with their chances. This was apparent from Xavi’s comments after the draw against Valencia, and the club believes the team will continue to suffer if this problem is not rectified soon.
None of the players in the current squad can be relied upon by Xavi to finish a good number of chances generated by the team.
Lewandowski, who used to be one of the most clinical finishers in Europe and won the Pichichi last season, has been drawing blanks throughout this season, while none of Joao Felix, Raphinha, or Ferran Torres are natural goalscorers.
In such a context, a lot is expected from Vitor Roque’s arrival, especially after his performances in Brazil this year. His arrival can provide relief to Lewandowski in the second half of the season, as his presence will allow Xavi to rest the Pole when he is fatigued or out of form.
If Lewandowski is unable to recover his form, Xavi can start both the Pole and the Brazilian together or can even prefer Roque ahead of Lewandowski.
Roque is expected to arrive in Barcelona on 27th December and will join the team in training on the 28th, after the Christmas break.
He was expected to join the club earlier, but he will have to be registered with Social Security as soon as he joins the club. His amortization will begin at this time, and the club decided to delay his joining after Christmas because there is not enough space for his registration in Barcelona’s salary list for now.
