Earlier today, we covered claims that Everton are still in the chase for Vitor Roque. It was also reported Barcelona want to sell him for at least €30m this summer.
The striker has struggled since arriving at the Camp Nou in January and Hansi Flick has left him out of his plans for next season.
Therefore, Sport say he’s now convinced he should leave, and the La Liga side want to part ways with him permanently. His camp is aware of the conditions needed for an exit and are working to find a solution.
Everton are said to have already expressed interest, while Sporting have asked about the 19-year-old in the last few hours.
Barca haven’t entertained loan offers, while the player isn’t willing to move to Saudi Arabia. His desire is to continue in Europe, where the Toffees are ‘putting the most effort’ in to secure the Brazilian’s services.
Everton are said to have made an offer, but Sport state they haven’t found an agreement with the Catalan club. Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth have also made contact, although they haven’t yet tabled bids.
With regards to Sporting, Roque’s entourage is ‘denying this destination’, meaning they aren’t convinced with this option.
There haven’t been any concrete claims in Portugal about the Lions’ interest in the player so far because they want to sign Panathinaikos’ Fotis Ioannidis. Even if Sporting are keen, it’s very unlikely that they will offer €30m to Barca.
Taking all this into account, it should come as encouragement for Everton in the race to sign Roque and they could potentially even get a loan.
It would be in Barca’s interest to let Roque leave on loan in this window, rather than taking an accounting loss on what they paid for him.
