Chelsea have left no stone unturned in the recent past with identifying young talent from within Europe as well as South America, and signing those players on long-term deals before developing them and eventually promoting them to the first team.
It is a strategy that is starting to pay off for them, either sporting-wise or financially, and could be a direction that they continue to adopt in the years to come. That said, they have identified another popular option they might potentially acquire.
Fichajes has reported that the Blues are keen on signing Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque. He returned to Brazil from Barcelona earlier this year and has done a very good job in his homeland with 17 goals and three assists in the ongoing campaign.
Brazilian football runs between March and December, with Roque making 30 appearances in his country’s Serie A and the Copa Libertadores, producing impressive numbers in the process, which could possibly give him a route back to Europe.
Roque unlikely to join Chelsea
Vitor Roque struggled for game time at Barcelona under Hansi Flick as well as Xavi owing to competition from Robert Lewandowski, and life at Chelsea for him is unlikely to get any easier should he end up joining them.
With Joao Pedro and Liam Delap recently acquired number nines already at Enzo Maresca, Roque risks becoming a secondary option yet again and after a troubled spell at Barca, the 20-year-old is unlikely to risk his career once more.
Nevertheless, he could be a player BlueCo can consider signing for Strasbourg with one eye towards developing him over the next few years and then sending him to Chelsea given that both clubs are owned by Todd Boehly’s and Clearlake Capital’s consortium.
He is valued at £17 million on Transfermarkt, but should the forward continue his fine run of form for another few months, his value might significantly rise owing to his age as well as sky-high potential.
