Even though it has only been a few weeks since the summer transfer window closed, the focus has already shifted to the mid-season trading market in January and how Barcelona intends to expand their roster even further. This is because the summer transfer window closed on August 5.

Even though they brought in Oriol Romeu in the summer, the reigning La Liga champions are rumored to be interested in adding another defensive midfielder to their roster in the near future.

Several targets have also been identified in order to accomplish this goal. These targets include players such as Jorginho of Arsenal and Guido Rodriguez of Real Betis, both of whom have contracts that will expire in 2024 and hence may be available for a reduced price in January.

Vitor Roque is the top priority for Barcelona in the month of January.

However, the most recent report from Roger Torello of Mundo Deportivo indicates that the most important goal for Barcelona during the January transfer window will be to get Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense.

The signing of Roque by the Blaugrana was completed during the summer itself in a transaction that was worth 30 million euros + 31 million euros in variables.

Because of the club’s problems with Financial Fair Play and Athletico Paranaense’s desire to keep him until the end of their season, it was decided that the young forward will continue to play for Athletico Paranaense in Brazil until the beginning of the 2024 season.

However, as a result of the Brazilian club’s elimination from the Copa Libertadores, there was some consideration given to transferring Roque to Barcelona during the summer itself; however, this plan did not come to fruition.

Tigrinho is holding out hope that they will make it to Barcelona. (Image courtesy of Getty Images/Heuler Andrey))As a consequence of this, the club that won the La Liga title has made it a high priority to include Roque in the squad in January without fail in order to ensure that they have a capable replacement for Robert Lewandowski.The superstar player, who is 35 years old and has had a sluggish start to the season, might benefit from regular rest and rotation, which is why the acquisition of Roque is being viewed as a priority by the club. Given the number of games that have already been scheduled.The emergence of Roque as a goal-scoring machineThe 18-year-old forward has recently secured a contract to play for Barcelona and has been getting ready to make a splash in Catalonia by hitting goals for fun while playing for Athletico Paranaense.In point of fact, Tigrinho has already scored 20 goals and assisted on eight more for the Brazilian club in 2023 across all competitions, making him stand out as one of the most productive young players anywhere in the world.As a result, the signing of Roque in January could prove to be a significant boon for Barcelona. Brazil’s head coach Ramon Menezes is certain that the adolescent will have no trouble adjusting to Xavi’s squad when he arrives.