Manchester United have been linked with a move for teen sensation Vitor Roque, but they will face stiff competition from the likes of Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal if they are to seal the deal.
That’s according to Gazzeta, who notes that since the player turns 18 in February, he will be eligible to move to Europe in the summer.
The 17-year-old Brazilian currently plays for Athletico Paranaense, for whom he is the club’s record signing for around £3.7m.
Athletico activated his buyout clause in April last year to get him out of Cruzeiro, but now he looks set to make a big profit on that deal in no time.
Roque is already a regular player for his club and has already scored fourteen goals and five assists in the senior category despite his young age.
Two of each came in the prestigious Copa Libertadores, including an excellent goal on his debut:
âš½???????? Good boy! Making his CONMEBOL #Libertadores debut, Vitor Roque shone and opened the scoring for @AthleticoPR against @Libertad_Guma.
???? It was Huracán’s 100th goal in the history of the Cup!# GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/SgfaMRwfyU
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) June 29, 2022
His clever movement, speed and dribbling ability have earned him comparisons to Ronaldo, who also once played for Cruzeiro.
Transfermarkt estimates that Roque is worth around €11m, but given the level of interest, it is likely that he will be worth more than that.
And particularly given that Athletico Paranese has just seen Real Madrid spend €60m to secure Endrick from Palmeiras, his club may be looking several times over for that €11m valuation. Roque also has a release clause of 60 million euros, although it is unclear whether or not his club would accept a lower figure at this point.
Endrick’s ballpark fees would likely curb any pursuit of Man United, whose record spend for a teenager was the €60m spent on Anthony Martial. That was back in 2015 and it included several plugins, many of which have yet to be achieved.
The South American market is also one where United have yet to spend much, with United’s transfer record from a South American club of €8.6m spent on Kleberson in 2003, from Athletico Paranese, by the way.
But a change in policy could well be on the horizon should a new investment or outright acquisition change United’s financial situation and bring new ideas to the table.
And Erik ten Hag has previously shown admiration for the ‘grinta’ of South American players, bringing in both Lisandro Martinez and Antony for large fees during their first transfer window.
At Ajax, a number of recruits were brought in directly from South American clubs and while that has always been a club policy at Amsterdam, it may well be one that Ten Hag wants to instill at United.
It remains to be seen if that policy begins with Vitor Roque.
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