Club with close links to Deco best-placed to sign Vitor Roque if he leaves Barcelona

Barcelona forward Vitor Roque will in theory have preseason to prove his value to new manager Hansi Flick, but his future is far from certain all the same. The Brazilian’s deal is yet to be accounted for in Barcelona’s salary limit, and if they do not manage to secure sufficient funds elsewhere, then Roque could become a casualty.

A number of teams have expressed an interest in Roque, but according to Sport, the best-placed to do so is Porto. A side that former player and current Sporting Director at Barcelona has close links to, the two entities have been in discussions over a potential loan deal this summer, which could become part of a €15m sale for Mikayil Faye. While Roque’s camp and Barcelona are still keen to hold onto him, they ‘preparing for all eventualities’.

So far only a loan deal has been discussed, although Porto would be interested in a permanent deal with a buyback option for the Blaugrana and potentially a sell-on percentage. Deco feels that Porto is the perfect place for young players to develop.

The whole deal for Roque continues to ask major questions of Barcelona and their recruitment work. If they were willing to spend up to €61m on him, but have lost faith in him already, then somewhere along the line there has been a miscalculation.