Barcelona star interested in joining Serie A side who had first bid rejected last week - Reports

According to SPORT, Barcelona youngster Vitor Roque is set to leave the Spanish side with a permanent move lined up. The Brazilian joined the Spanish giants just last year but is set to swap clubs yet again with Serie A side SS Lazio leading the race for his signature.

The forward's move from Athletico Paranaense to the Catalan club was much publicised with Barcelona apparently fending off interest from other European heavyweights such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to sign the promising youngster. However, his time in Spain didn't turn out the way he would have hoped despite Barca spending over £50 million to sign him.

The 19-year-old has barely featured in the club's pre-season under new manager Hansi Flick while the performances of loan returnee Pau Victor have further cast his future in doubt. With Lazio's interest likely to be formalised in the coming days, it might be wise for all parties to part ways.

Vitor Roque's agent had blasted then Barcelona manager Xavi

At the end of last season, Vitor Roque's agent, Andre Cury, had launched a scathing attack on then Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez. Roque had made just 13 appearances for the club since signing for them in January, with 11 of them being from the bench.

"Everyone thinks that Vitor Roque has to have more minutes and no one understands why the coach [Xavi] doesn’t give them to him. Xavi has never spoken to the player. I do not understand this situation and I think it is not good for either party," he said (via Metro).

He had even hinted at a premature exit for Vitor Roque at the time after the youngster was not given his due despite scoring two goals in around 300 minutes.

"I already spoke with Deco. The boy has a contract with Barca and we chose Barca instead of other options where we could earn double the money. I am certain that Vitor Roque will be a great player but if Barça doesn’t let him, the club or the coach, I don’t know what happens internally, we will look for another way," the agent added.

Cory compared his situation to Real Madrid stalwart, Vinicius Jr, who took his time to settle in Madrid, but has since set the world alight. He highlighted that it took Vinicius over two years to show the style of play he is showing now whereas for his agent, the road was cut short in as many months.