Chelsea target Brazil wonderkid Vitor Roque, 17, but Athletico Paranaense striker has amazing £87m buyout fee
CHELSEA will try and sign Brazilian wonderkid Vitor Roque, according to reports.
But the Blues may face a tough task to land the youngster – because he has a staggering £87million buyout clause.
The 17-year-old Roque is one of the hot prospects for the future of Brazilian football alongside Endrick.
Real Madrid pipped the Blues to land 16-year-old Endrick for £60m this week.
But according to AS, Chelsea are leading the charge for Roque from Athletico Paranaense.
However, Paris Saint-Germain are said to be very interested, Barcelona are keen and Real Madrid will also try their luck.
The rapid and bullish striker is attracting plenty of attention with his performances in the Brazilian Serie A, but with his dribbling ability he is equally effective on the wing.
He made his debut aged 16 – although he was dragged off after just 18 minutes – before helping Ronaldo’s club Cruzeiro earn promotion to Serie A and then joined Paranaesne in April 2022.
He has racked up seven goals in 36 appearances since the switch.
Roque featured in the Copa Libertadores final – a 1-0 defeat to Flamengo – and is under contract until 2027.
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But because he turns 18 in February, he will be eligible to move to Europe in the summer transfer window.
Roque may well follow in the footsteps of compatriots Endrick, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior by making the transfer aged 18.
However, with all three of those heading to the Bernabeu, Chelsea will hope to buck the trend with the latest talent.
And he would fit the new transfer strategy under Todd Boehly of snapping up exciting teenage players with the view of developing them into first-team stars.
The likes of Eddie Beach (18), Carney Chukwuemeka (18), Gabriel Slonina (18), Omari Hutchinson (18), Zak Sturge (18) and Cesare Casadei (19) all signed for Chelsea in the summer.