Newcastle United have been linked with signing Athletico Paranaense teenager Vitor Roque, and their president has now admitted that there is a ‘race’ to secure his signature.
The 17-year-old emerged as a target for the Magpies during the January transfer window. Goal in Brazil reported that Eddie Howe’s side had made contact with Athletico about bringing Roque to St James’ Park.
They also stated that Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea had held talks, with the world’s biggest clubs looking to snap up the exciting youngster.
Roque has been likened to Ronaldo – the Brazilian one, not CR7 – which sums up how highly rated he is. The forward has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, which is why Newcastle and others are trying to sign him now.
Now the Athletico Paranaense president has commented on Roque’s future, and admitted that European clubs can pay him more than what they can.
President admits ‘there’s a race’ for Newcastle target Vitor Roque
Paranaense president Mario Celso Petraglia has spoke to Brazilian outlet Globo about Roque’s future at the club.
“There’s a race for Vitor Roque,” he said.
“We cannot afford to pay what the Europeans pay. We’ve already received calls and offers, but they didn’t reach our number. It’s [a transfer] still a long way off.”
Roque is one of many Brazilian teens Newcastle have targeted
It sounds like Petraglia has accepted that Roque will go, but only for the right price. Globo add that Athletico want more than £39.7million for him, and have already turned down a bid worth £22million.
Newcastle are going to have to spend big if they want to sign Roque, and fend off interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs.
Dan Ashworth has a big task on his hand, and is struggling to tap into the South American market. The Magpies have been linked with a plethora of young Brazilian players in recent months, but are yet to bring any of them to Tyneside.
Andrey Santos was a big target, but he joined Chelsea during the January transfer window instead. There were also bids made for Flamengo’s Matheus Franca, but they were rejected.
Roque, who has been part of the Brazil Under-20 squad that has just won the South American Youth Championship, is another player who Newcastle want. However, he is going to cost a lot of money – around £40million, in fact.
That would make him one of the Magpies’ most expensive signings ever, and it is a huge amount of money for someone who turns 18 later this month.
Perhaps Bruno Guimaraes could help us in this pursuit. Roque plays for his former club, and is actually wearing Bruno’s old shirt number.
Maybe our superstar midfielder can have a word. It might be our only hope of beating the likes of PSG, Chelsea and Barcelona…
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