Barcelona will inform teenage striker Vitor Roque that they believe he should look for a loan move this summer, after signing him for EUR30m, in a deal that could rise to EUR61m depending on variables. The 19-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by in the Barcelona team since arriving.
Just 310 minutes across four months of action have led Barcelona to take the decision, along with manager Xavi Hernandez and agent Andre Cury to advise him to go out on loan next season. Sport say the belief is that he needs minutes to continue adapting to European football and avoid stalling his development.
JUST IN: Barcelona intends to inform Vitor Roque soon about their plan to loan him out next season. @ferrancorreas pic.twitter.com/saQkl7SSX9
- barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 30, 2024
Roque was sold to fans as the number nine to replace Robert Lewandowski, with some even believing he could bench the Polish striker this season. It looks like he will be the number nine very much of the future though, than the present.
Their preference is for Roque to go on loan to another club in La Liga, and the Catalan daily say that Real Betis have already expressed an interest in taking him next season. His salary is not large at this point in time, meaning it should not get in the way of the ideal move.
Betis and Barcelona have plenty of history together in recent times, with former Barcelona players Marc Bartra and Claudio Bravo currently there. Chadi Riad and Ez Abde both moved from Barcelona just last season too, while Barcelona have signed Emerson Royale and Junior Firpo from Betis in the last five years too.