With less than two weeks left before the summer transfer window closes, Barcelona have a lot of urgent tasks yet to conclude. This slow approach could end up being very costly, but it is the route that the club has taken. In terms of immediate priorities, however, Barcelona are mainly focusing on exist.
The most imminent departure will reportedly be that of German veteran Ilkay Gundogan, as the chances of him returning to Manchester City continue to grow day by day. However, beyond just the Gundogan operation, Barcelona have other priorities as well.
One of those is the departure of Vitor Roque, who has various suitors still negotiating for his arrival. From within Spain, however, the most prominent suitor seems to be Real Betis. In fact, alongside Portuguese side Sporting CP, they seem to be the most active side in pursuing the Brazilian youngster’s signing.
According to AS, however, there are some mixed feelings about their pursuit after their recent meeting with both Barcelona and Vitor Roque. From Betis, the delegation that was sent to negotiate the player’s arrival consisted of club CEO Ramon Alarcon, sports director Manu Fajardo and Joaquin Sanchez, and considering how strong a delegation this is, it is clear to see that they mean business.
While the negotiation with the player reportedly went quite smoothly, the issue that continues to persist is getting Barcelona to agree. As it stands, Sporting is willing to offer a transfer fee above the €20 million price point to permanently take away Roque from Barça. This is the ideal kind of operation for the Catalan club, and something that Betis does not match.
Instead, the Andalusian club is offering a loan deal that would take the player away for only one season. Unfortunately for them, that is not the kind of operation that Barcelona currently wants to do in regards to Vitor Roque. However, it seems that Joaquin Sanchez seems to think that there is a positive chance of making this deal happen.
Only time will tell what the eventual conclusion is regarding this operation, but a permanent transfer would surely help Barcelona a lot financially. At the moment, sales are crucial for the Catalan club to be able to register their pending players while also making it possible for them to dive back into the market before it closes.
