Barcelona stopped Spurs signing striker in 2023 – Now they are interested again
Barcelona stopped Tottenham Hotspur from winning the race for a striker by paying over the odds, but the La Liga giants now regret their decision.
Roque impresses after Barcelona loan exit
Vitor Roque may not have lived up to his potential at Barcelona, but the striker has shown since his loan move to Real Betis in the summer just why there is so much hype around him.
The versatile forward, who can play across the frontline, has seven goals and two assists so far at the Benito Villamarin Stadium and it was reported last month that the 21-year-old’s displays had alerted Tottenham.
It was explained that Betis had the option to sign the player for €25m (£20m) in the summer, which they could activate before potentially selling Vitor Roque to Spurs for a profit.
How Barcelona beat Spurs to Vitor Roque
A new report in the print edition of Sport (as relayed by Sport Witness) has now shed light on how close Tottenham came to landing Roque from Athletico Paranaense two years ago.
Barca struck a deal with the Brazilian club for the forward in July 2023, but the player only made the move to Camp Nou in January of last year.
It is pointed out in the report that Barca’s deal was worth an initial fee of €30m (£25.3m) plus a potential €31m (£26.2m) in performance-related bonus payments.
The report claims that Barcelona paid over the odds for the striker due to competition from Tottenham, who were determined to sign the youngster.
In the end, intermediary Andre Cury, who was working on behalf of the La Liga side, ‘stopped an offer from Spurs’ and convinced the Brazilian to come to Catalonia.
The publication reveals that the Lilywhites were willing to offer Roque a salary of €4.8m (£4m) per year compared to the €1.8m (£1.5m) he got at Barca.
This confirms that Spurs are fans of Vitor Roque
This revelation on how hard Tottenham tried to beat Barca to Roque substantiates the fact that the North London club are indeed fans of the Brazilian.
Should he continue impressing at Betis, one would not be surprised if Spurs test the waters with an offer for the striker at the end of the season.
However, the one thing to keep in mind is that Tottenham’s recruitment department has been revamped since July of 2023 after Johan Lange joined as the technical director later that year.
It thus remains to be seen if Roque is still highly thought of by this new regime at N17.
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