Chelsea and Arsenal ready to battle Barcelona for £44m-rated striker dubbed 'new Luis Suarez' - Reports
Arsenal and Chelsea are reportedly back in the race to sign Barcelona target Vitor Roque. The Brazilian striker is keen on leaving Athletico Paranaense this summer, and the club are demanding £44 million for him.
As per a report in SPORT, Arsenal and Chelsea are looking to bolster their attack and see the youngster as a good choice. The 18-year-old is now eligible to move out of Brazil and has interest from several clubs.
Barcelona were leading the race for the striker, and he has already expressed interest in joining them. However, the Catalan side are in a financial situation that will not allow them to register the player.
The current rules will allow Barcelona to spend just 40% of the fee they generate from sales this summer. Should they still be interested in signing Roque, they will need to get £100 million at least to pay the £44 million.
Chelsea and Arsenal have no such issues, but the Blues do have a bloated squad that needs to be trimmed. The Gunners will have more of an advantage as they have Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli to help lure the teenager.
Chelsea and Arsenal target wants to join Barcelona
Barcelona target Vitor Roque spoke about leaving Athletico Paranaense and admitted that he was looking forward to moving to Europe. He spoke to Globo Esporte and said:
"I definitely feel prepared to play in Europe. I work for it. I'm focused on getting there as prepared as possible."
The Brazilian youngster has already made it clear that he wants to join Barcelona. He said:
"If ending up going to Barca comes to fruition, it will be a great joy for my family and for me ... for this reason, I have to continue working hard and hope that everything will come to fruition over time."
He wants to play with Robert Lewandowski and added:
"If I had a footballer by my side of this level, I would try to learn as much as I could. If this ends up happening, I'm sure it will be very important for my career. It would be something wonderful."
Barcelona had a €25 million bid rejected for the forward earlier this season.