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Barcelona new signing Vitor Roque has arrived at the club. The 18-year-old has completed a move from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense for a reported fee of €61 million.
Jijantes FC has reported that the youngster will take the No 19 jersey. Franck Kessie, who departed for the Saudi Pro League this summer, wore it last season. The likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres have previously worn the number for the Blaugrana.
Roque emerged as one of the hottest prospects from South America, beginning his youth career with Cruzeiro. He later moved to Athletico Paranaense for a club-record fee ahead of the 2022 season. This year, he bagged 21 goals and eight assists in 45 appearances across competitions.
He also shone at the U-20 South American Championship in January and February. He scored six goals and set up one in eight games, leading Brazil to their 12th title.
The youngster is expected to make a huge impact at Barcelona. While he's likely to start as Robert Lewandowski's backup, he could get into a starting role soon.
Barcelona set to miss out on Argentinian wonderkid to Manchester City
Premier League giants Manchester City are nearing completion of a move for River Plate's Claudio Echeverri.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona were highly interested in signing the youngster but were unable to do so because of their financial woes. In his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano said:
“Claudio Echeverri is close to joining Manchester City, and, today, I want to explain to you what’s going on around this boy, because Barcelona really wanted him.
“Deco is a big fan of the player, and, also, other people in the club know this talented boy very well. He’s playing for River Plate and was under contract until December 2024, a dangerous situation for River because his release clause is just €25m euros going up to €30m in the final 10 days of the window."
He added:
“It’s impossible for Barcelona to make the deal happen because of Financial Fair Play restrictions, even though he was really tempted by the opportunity to join Barcelona because he’s understood to be a big fan.
“Chelsea made some contacts to make sure they were in the race for Echeverri, but at the end of the day, Manchester City are the big favourites and are advancing to the final stages of this story.”
The 17-year-old was highly sought after by Chelsea and Real Madrid as well. Gaston Edul of TyC Sports reported that City have reached an agreement on a deal worth £20 million.
Echeverri is set to remain at River Plate till the summer and could stay with the Argentinian side for a further season. He excelled for Argentina in the u-17 World Cup earlier this year, bagging five goals and one assist. La Albiceleste lost in the semifinals to Germany on penalties.
