Barcelona are set to hold on to Vitor Roque for a longer period of time after opting to send the 19-year-old striker out on loan this season instead of selling outright. to transfer.
Roque has been pushed to the fringes of Barca. The Brazilian has struggled to establish himself following his January 30m (plus up to €31m in add-ons) arrival from Athletico Paranaense.
However, any hopes of a restart in 2024/25 under new coach Hansi Flick were dashed when Roque was left without a shirt number, having seen his number 19 jersey given to Lamine Yamal, and not being registered in the first team squad. of a few lesser-known talents.
A permanent move to Portugal with Sporting CP appeared to be on the cards earlier this week. But Barcelona is now being reported by Marca rejecting an offer from Lisbon, to accept a loan offer that would see Roque join Real Betis until next summer instead.
The offer from Sporting is described as “significant”, but still falls short of Barca’s initial fee of 30 million euros. The suggestion is that there is more behind the decision to reject us than money, however. From a sporting point of view, it is now said that Barcelona have not completely lost faith in Roque and want to control his future, at least for a long time.
In theory, joining Real Betis on loan would give Roque a chance to adapt to La Liga away from the tough tests he faced in Catalonia last season.
Under the leadership of coach Manuel Pellegrini, Betis have a strong set-up and an experienced squad that includes the likes of Isco, Nabil Fekir, Marc Bartra, Diego Llorente, Ricardo Rodriguez and William Carvalho. But Roque, along with being given an opportunity to learn, would bring more youthful energy to make it a worthwhile arrangement.
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