Barca's young forward close to an exit move amidst strong interest from PL clubs

Considering Barcelona's strong interest in signing a high-profile winger, having already spent a massive amount on Olmo, they would need big sales to fund them. In the last few days, the Blaugrana club has been hoping to gather as much as they can from player sales, and thus even after selling Araujo for €10 million, the club has been on the lookout for more sales.

Currently topping Barca's shortlist of potential sales stands Brazilian forward Vitor Roque. Having an ineffective record of 2 goals in 16 appearances, the youngster wasn't backed after a significant game during Xavi's era. When the new in, Hansi Flick, arrived, Roque possessed the best opportunity to start afresh in the fight for a spot in the playing XI.

Vitor Roque close to an exit move

However, whatever minutes he featured for the Blaugrana club, he just couldn't catch up with the club's playstyle, feeling confused about what to do. Reports from Marca suggest that Vitor Roque did not impress Hansi Flick on the US tour; hence, the club has decided to let him leave permanently or on a loan deal.

Moreover, reports from Mundo Deportivo updated that Barcelona has already told Vitor Roque to find a new club. Otherwise, if he ended up staying, Barça would not have registered him. With players like Olmo still unregistered and Barcelona being over the salary limit in La Liga, it was certain that Roque wouldn't have gotten playing minutes.

Considering significant interest from other European clubs, Barca has him on the transfer market, open to a permanent sale as well as a loan. Initially, Saudi Giant Al Hilal had come quite close to convincing Roque, but the player's preference to continue in Europe turned the deal off.

Currently, the Premier League clubs Everton and Bournemouth are in the race to acquire the Brazilian's signature. While Bournemouth has been in Roque's deal for a while, after Araujo's move to Bournemouth was confirmed, Everton are relatively new in the Vitor Roque's transfer saga. Despite that, currently, Everton stands in the best spot for signing the Brazilian forward.

Recent reports suggest that Everton is in ongoing talks with Deco, and despite being unable to match Barca's expectations with their first offer, the club is continuing to explore a deal to sign Vitor Roque. FC Barcelona are clear on Roque's transfer; they want to extract at least €30-€35M from the player's deal.

Analyzing from Barcelona's perspective, their demand of around €35M sounds fair, considering that they had spent €30M for him and need to give a share of the transfer fee to Athletico Paranaense. Thus, even though the player's recent form hasn't been nice, Barca would stand firm in their transfer fee demand.

Even though further updates on Vitor Roque's transfer are yet to arrive, Barca would want to complete the forward's transfer as soon as possible.