FC Barcelona have quite a few options in the squad who can play as a striker. Of course, there is Robert Lewandowski. There are also the likes of Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, and new signing Pau Victor who can play in that position. There is one more option – Vitor Roque.
The Brazilian teenager arrived in Spain in January with Barcelona advancing his arrival following the injury to Gavi. Why the club did that without having a plan to integrate him into the team is something we will never know.
It is quite possible that Barcelona expected much more from Roque when he arrived but Xavi wasn’t convinced with what he saw from the player. Whatever the reasons are, the Brazilian’s transfer hasn’t worked out for the Spanish club.
Let’s not forget that Barcelona paid big money to sign the Brazilian talent who was supposed to be Endrick’s rival in this generation. The Catalans paid an initial €30m with €31m in potential add-ons to sign the 19-year-old.
Now, as per SPORT, Barcelona are willing to sell him just months after bringing him to Spain with Al Hilal expressing interest in signing him. The Saudi club is willing to offer around €40m for his services which the Catalans have accepted.
The difficult part has been convincing Roque to move to Saudi, which hasn’t been possible until now. The report adds that the teenager will only consider a move to Al Hilal should they offer him outrageously high money which they aren’t willing to do. Thus, all parties are at an impasse.
When Marc Guiu left Barcelona to join Chelsea this summer, it was expected that Hansi Flick would give Roque a chance in pre-season. However, the Spanish club signed Pau Victor who has already scored three goals in two games in the US tour. Roque on the other hand started one game as a winger and came off the bench in the other.
Barcelona haven’t come off looking great in this transfer. In a time where the financial situation of the club is quite precarious, they have spent huge money on a player only to not be convinced by him and want to move him on this soon after signing him.
Roque is definitely talented and with time, he will mature into a better player. However, at the moment, he isn’t at the level expected of a Barcelona player. An exit seems a likely possibility this summer. Let’s see how it pans out.
