Man Utd in €100m Brazilian striker bid as agent reveals Ten Hag plot to pinch Barcelona new boy

Manchester United saw a last-ditch bid to snatch Vitor Roque away from Barcelona fail amid a stunning claim made by his agent over the Brazil striker.

The 18-year-old striker is regarded as one of the brightest talents to emerge in Brazil in a number of years. Having moved to Athletico Paranaense just over a year ago, he has scored 22 goals in 66 appearances for the Serie A side.

And having also made his debut for the Brazil national side, the striker is clearly heading for the top.

As a result, Barcelona have been on his trail for a number of months. Having been identified by the Blaugrana as the long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski, talks over a move have been ongoing for several months now.

And an agreement was officially struck to take Roque to Barcelona on Wednesday, with the LaLiga giants paying €40m (£34.2m) for his services.

The teenager has signed a lucrative eight-year deal at the Nou Camp until summer 2031. And his release clause has been set at a mammoth €500m (£428m).

He becomes Barca’s third signing of the summer, following Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez’s arrivals. And with their heir for Lewandowski now finalised, president Joan Laporta has given an insight into what to expect from Vitor Roque.

“Goals,” Laporta told Mundo Deportivo when asked what to expect from Roque.

“He very much has his own style. You can’t really compare him with [retired Brazil strikers] Ronaldo or Romario. He is someone that is deadly with both feet inside the box.

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Man Utd made late bid to snatch Vitor Roque

“He is different to what we have had here before. If you had to compare him to anyone, it would be Ronaldo, who was a force of nature with us. [Roque] has bags of potential, is young, powerful and Brazilian.”

However, it emerged earlier this month that Manchester United were considering a late bid to hijack the move. Erik ten Hag’s desire to sign a new striker this summer is well documented. Indeed, they are actively pursuing a deal to bring in Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund, rated at around €60m.

Euro Paper Talk, however, picked up on rumours that Ten Hag was looking to poach Roque from under Barcelona’s noses.

Now his agent has confirmed that United did, in fact, make a late approach to pinch the striker’s signing.

And, in also confirming interest from Tottenham, he told the Charla podcast they were looking to gazump Barca’s bid.

His agent Andre Cury said: “We received much bigger offers from Tottenham and Manchester United for Vitor Roque. It was over €100m. But his career plan is well mapped out and we opted for Barcelona. The moment is not to look at the money but the career.”

Roque to replace Lewandowski at Barcelona

As such, with Roque already giving his word to Barcelona, his move to the Nou Camp will go through next summer.

In the meantime, it is good to see the striker staying true to his word and following what is perceived as the best career path, rather than the money.

He will now spend an additional year with Atletico in Brazil to further his experience in the game. Indeed, his move to Barcelona is offically slotted to go through next summer.

By then, Lewandowksi will be 35 and a decision on his future will need to be made. The veteran striker is contracted to Barca until summer 2026.

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