Barcelona will receive a welcome boost to their squad in the coming weeks as young forward Vitor Roque will be joining from Athletico Paranaense imminently.
The Blaugrana had signed Roque, 18, from Athletico in the summer itself, in a deal worth €30 million plus €31 million in add-ons. But FFP concerns meant that the teenage striker’s arrival was postponed until 2024.
While there were some considerations about putting forth Roque’s incorporation until the summer, the Catalans’ misfiring attacking unit meant that Xavi asked the club to do everything in their power to have him in the squad from January itself.
As such, the 18-year-old forward will soon be joining up with Xavi’s side, with a debut potentially scheduled for the first game after the mid-season break vs Las Palmas.
Vitor Roque not called up for pre-Olympic tournament
In the midst of Roque’s imminent arrival, there were some concerns that he might be called up by the Brazil Under-23 side for the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Venezuela which will be held between January 20 and February 11.
However, as reported by SPORT, Roque has not been called up to the Brazil squad by the U-20 and Olympic team’s manager Ramon Menezes.
It must be noted that the CONMEBOL pre-Olympic qualifiers are not a part of the FIFA official calendar. As such, clubs are not obligated to release their players to represent the national team if they are called up.
So, Barcelona would not have been forced to release Roque even if he was named on the squad list by Menezes.
But to avoid any conflict, the Brazil Olympics team manager has decided not to call Roque up, along with Girona’s Savinho – a summer transfer target for Barcelona.
