Man Utd and Tottenham rekindle interest in ANGRY Barcelona star

Robin Bairner

• 11 Mar 2024 09:07 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United and Tottenham are seeking to take advantage of Barcelona’s weakness to sign the increasingly frustrated Vitor Roque, according to reports from Spain.

Barca rushed through a deal for the teenage Brazilian in January, but after arriving with much fanfare, the centre-forward has endured a frustrating start to life in Catalunya.

According to reports from last week, Vitor Roque is growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of opportunities, and being overlooked for La Masia graduate Marc Guiu during Friday’s LaLiga win over Mallorca will not have helped the situation. He has played 10 times, but only 226 minutes, scoring two goals.

READ MORE: €40m down the drain? Roque's Barcelona ordeal goes from bad to worse

Xavi’s side beat competition from numerous clubs in order to sign the highly rated youngster, among them Man Utd and Tottenham. With the player already showing signs of being unsettled and agitating for a move, TodoFichajes reports that they are seeking to rekindle interest in the 19-year-old striker.

“Roque does not count for Xavi and the player is considering a change of scenery on loan to have greater playing time. Barcelona would never agree a loan to another Spanish club, but they could accept his move to the Premier League. The problem is that both Man Utd and Spurs are looking to sign the striker permanently,” it is reported.

“Barcelona do not want to lose him, but if United and Tottenham pay a little more than the fixed price Barca paid in January, it could be a great deal.

READ MORE: Champions League-winning coach learning Spanish to replace Xavi at Barcelona

“Unlike before, when the English clubs offered the player a better contract than Barcelona, Vitor Roque has changed his mind and will listen more carefully to their proposals.”

It is claimed that the financial muscle of the Premier League sides may force the “fragile” Blaugrana to sell.

Vitor Roque admits mistake?

Vitor Roque’s agent indicated in July 2023 that Man Utd and Spurs both made a play for the teenager before his deal with Barcelona was secured.

"We received much bigger offers from Tottenham and Manchester United for Vitor Roque," Andre Cury said. "It was over €100 million. But his career plan is well mapped out and we opted for Barcelona. The moment is not to look at the money but the career."

Barcelona’s situation is dictated by their Financial Fair Play concerns, which are likely to prevent them from making significant headway in the summer transfer market.

For this reason, they are likely to be forced to sell at least a couple of major stars to balance their books and with Vitor Roque not having made the expected impact, he could be a candidate to depart if he is as unhappy as indicated. It would be a surprise, though, for him to give up on Barcelona after only 10 weeks.

Barca are in command of the situation. Roque has a contract that runs until 2031 and a release clause of €500m.