Xavi has revealed when Vitor Roque will join Barcelona after providing a training update on the €35m (£30m/$39m) Brazilian forward.

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• Roque soon to travel to Spain
• Gavi's knee injury helped Barca finance Roque's move
• Might join squad after Christmas

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Catalan club confirmed the signing of the player in January 2023 and is all set to welcome him before the year ends. It was reported that Roque might arrive in Barcelona on December 27, and it seems that the plan remains on track as Xavi spoke in the same vein when pressed about his arrival.

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• WHAT XAVI SAID

  Speaking to reporters, Xavi said: "If everything goes well, he will join us after the holidays. We are in contact with him so that he arrives in good condition.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Barcelona have been struggling in front of goal and Roque could not have arrived at a better time. However, Xavi brushed aside the idea that Barcelona would be overly reliant on the youngster for goals, and instead urged his senior players to step up.

  "We cannot put pressure on Vitor Roque or young people like Lamine [Yamal]. They have to go step by step," he said. "We have to take a step forward as a team. We need to make the difference, we lack effectiveness in the areas. The lack of effectiveness has weighed on us in many games. If we want to turn things around in La Liga, we need to improve there.”

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Gavi suffered an ACL injury while representing Spain in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia, which forced him to undergo surgery. However, Barcelona made the most of the opportunity and used 80 per cent of the salary freed by Gavi to register Roque provisionally until June.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News