The Agent of Vitor Roque has confirmed that Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina were all keeping tabs on his client during the Summer Transfer Window.
The 19-year-old is a Cruzeiro youth product who made waves in Brazilian football at a tender age, especially during his time at Athletico Paranaense. This prompted Barcelona to splash €40 million for his services last January. However, the teenager struggled for playing time at Camp Nou, so the club placed him on the transfer list in the summer to make way for new arrivals.
The Brazil international eventually completed a loan move to Real Betis. The Andalusians have the right to buy him at the end of the season, but the Blaugrana have retained a buy-back clause.
Agent Confirms Lazio Interest in Vitor Roque in Summer Transfer Window
Prior to his move to Betis, Roque was heavily linked with a transfer to Serie A, with Lazio, Inter, and Fiorentina all emerging as possible destinations.
In a new interview with TuttoMercatoWeb, the player’s agent Andre Cury confirmed all the rumours, revealing that all three sides including the Biancocelesti were indeed interested in the young striker, albeit they never made an official bid.
Yes, I spoke to Fiorentina. But only once, for a very short time. Lazio and Inter also showed interest but we never spoke about the player in depth. That’s because they never made offers, neither to us nor to Barcelona.
Lazio were tracking several youngsters towards the end of the market, as their senior squad list became saturated, thus hindering the arrival of players above the age of 22.
Nevertheless, Samuel Gigot was the only one to join Marco Baroni’s ranks in the final days of the summer transfer session, replacing Nicolo Casale who signed for Bologna.