Barcelona STILL don't know when Vitor Roque will join

Cameron Smith

• 10 Jul 2023 06:52 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona are reportedly still unsure when imminent new signing Vitor Roque will actually join the club.

Roque, 18, is set to sign for the Blaugrana from Athletico Paranaense in Brazil, with the Spanish giants beating the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in the race for his signature.

A full agreement has been reached, with Barcelona reportedly set to pay an initial €35 million to acquire his services. However, the eventual fee could rise closer to €60m with add-ons, according to reports.

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The teenager has caught the eye with his performances for Athletico Paranaense, who made Roque their record signing in 2022 when they purchased him for €4.7m from Cruzeiro in the second tier of Brazilian football.

Now he is set to be on the move again, but Barcelona are unsure when he will officially link up with the team. It’s expected that Barca will officially complete the signing of Roque in the coming days, but he will remain in Brazil until 2024.

However, according to Spanish outlet La SER, Barcelona do not know whether Roque will join them in January or June next year.

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Some had expected that Roque would join Barcelona immediately, but it appears that he will stay at Athletico Paranaense until next year.

If he joins Barca in January, then Roque will be able to help the Blaugrana during the final few months of the La Liga season and in the knockout stages of the Champions League - if they progress through the group stages for the first time since 2020/21.

Man Utd wanted Roque

FootballTransfers understands that Manchester United made a late move for the teenager, although it wasn’t enough to change Roque’s mind. Fabrizio Romano also indicated that a leading Premier League club did attempt to block Roque’s move to Barcelona.

Roque is expected to sign a deal that runs until 2030 at Camp Nou. He has notched 28 goals and 10 assists in 82 senior appearances to date.