BARCELONA
Barcelona try to convince Athletico Paranaense to let Vítor Roque go this summer
The Catalans are aware that they may need more power up front and the Brazilian would replace Dembélé's departure to PSG.
Barcelona want to fight for all the titles once again and be more successful in Europe than in their last two seasons.
The US tour proved to be quite positive for Xavi Hernández’s men, as they bounced back from their loss to Arsenal to thrash Real Madrid and defeat AC Milan.
However, one of Barça’s best players, Ousmane Dembélé, decided to leave the club to join Paris Saint-Germain, as the French powerhouses are looking to strengthen their attack due to Kylian Mbappé's possible departure this summer.
Barça in talks with Paranaense for Roque
Without a doubt, Barcelona’s offensive line will be weakened without Dembélé, and Xavi is well aware of it. Against Tottenham, the Catalans struggled to create opportunities and score for most of the game and that dynamics only changed with 10 minutes to go, after Xavi made some changes and talented youngsters Fermin López and Lamine Yamal were brought in.
Yamal is seen as one of the biggest young talents in the club but Xavi doesn’t want to add extra pressure on him as he’s only 16. Moreover, some forwards like Ferran Torres or Raphinha haven’t lived up to the expectations since they landed in Barcelona.
After the Joan Gamper Trophy game, where Barcelona defeated Tottenham (4-2), Xavi openly said that the team needs new signings to be more competitive and admitted anything could happen with Torres, Raphinha, and Ansu Fati before the end of the summer transfer window.
Taking that into consideration, Barcelona are trying to convince Athletico Paranaense to let Vítor Roque join the La Liga champions this summer.
Due to the LaLiga Fair Play rules, the initial plan for him was to join Barcelona in January after the domestic season in Brazil came to an end in December, but without Dembou the current LaLiga champions want to add a high-scoring player alongside Robert Lewandowski.
Although the Brazilian club has been eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, they don’t want to see their star forward leave before the season is over.