After a month of speculation surrounding a move to Palmeiras for Vitor Roque, today has been labelled as ‘D-day’ for the deal. The 19-year-old has fallen out of the starting XI in recent weeks, and it looks as if he will be on his way out of the Benito Villamarin.
Barcelona and Palmeiras have more or less agreed to a deal for Roque to move for €25m with the Catalan giants retaining 20% of his rights, as per Sport. There are still a few details to be settled, but those are expected to be ironed out over the course of Monday, in an operation that allows Barcelona to escape a failed transfer without accounting losses.
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Meanwhile Real Betis have been adamant for several weeks that Roque was going to remain at the club, but Los Verdiblancos are now conscious of the fact that he is a lost cause. They have no intention of collapsing the deal, as they have a ‘magnificent’ relationship with Barcelona, and now have Cucho Hernandez operating up front after signing him for €13m in January.
Betis have an option to buy Roque under the same terms, and also an option to extend his loan until next season if they please, and they could yet receive a minor fee in order to allow Roque to leave now rather than the summer. The Brazilian transfer window ends on the 28th of February, but there is optimism in Sao Paulo that the deal will get done for their new marquee signing.
In addition, it has been reported that Betis are paying all of Roque’s salary, and must pay a €1.5m penalty if Roque does not reach a threshold of appearances, something he is in danger of doing given Manuel Pellegrini has opted for alternatives over him recent weeks. Pellegrini has been reluctant to let him go, as Hernandez is not registered for the Conference League, leaving only Cedric Bakambu as a natural option for that competition, but it seems the Chilean will lose this battle.
