Brazilian youngster and Barcelona forward Victor Roque will speak with new head coach Hansi Flick about his role in Barca’s plans moving forward after finding minutes hard to come by under former manager Xavi, Soccernet.football understands.
Barca reached an agreement to sign the 19-year-old last summer, initially planning to keep the striker in Brazil until the end of the past season. However, the Catalans decided to bring him in earlier, moving the deal forward to January.
Roque was on the pitch for only 353 minutes under Xavi, prompting a furious reaction from the striker’s agent, Andre Cury, who threatened to seek a permanent exit unless things improve considerably next season.
Cury was vocally critical of Xavi’s treatment of the 19-year-old at the end of the season and the then Barca boss replied by claiming that he wanted to keep Roque at Athletico Paranaense until the end of this summer.
In response to Xavi’s claims, Cury told Radio MARCA “It is not true that Xavi wanted the player for December. He wanted him even before, for July, but they did not let him come. Honestly, Xavi called him personally.”
Roque is set to hold talks with new Barca boss Hansi Flick, whom Cury has urged to show patience and allow the 19-year-old to develop, similar to how Real Madrid nurtured Vinicius Junior.
“Vitor Roque expected more minutes with Xavi. Now, with the new coach he is starting from scratch,” he continued.
“In front of him [Flick], he has a world-class player like [Robert] Lewandowski. Vini, for example, took two years to adapt.”
Cury has made it clear to Barcelona that Roque will not settle for a place on the bench next season, also ruling out a loan move away from the club for the Brazilian youngster.