West Ham and Barcelona in contact over £52m transfer

West Ham United and Barcelona are reportedly in contact over the potential transfer of Brazilian striker Vitor Roque, who is having a difficult time at the Nou Camp at the moment.

The talented youngster only recently joined Barca, but he could now be made available again as his agent Andre Cury has hit out at the club for not playing time, and even called out manager Xavi for not speaking to him.

Roque remains highly regarded but simply hasn’t managed to nail down a place in the Barcelona first-team, so it now looks like he could make a speedy exit from the club in a permanent transfer, with his agent firmly ruling out the possibility of his client going out on loan.

The 19-year-old has now been offered to West Ham, according to journalist Graeme Bailey, so it will be intriguing to see if the Hammers can get this deal done.

Roque transfer: Barcelona misfit has other options as well as West Ham

Bailey’s report also mentions clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United being approached over Roque, so this could be an open race for the teenager’s signature.

Still, if Roque is unhappy about his playing time with Barcelona, it would surely make sense for him to choose a stepping stone club like West Ham, where he’s more likely to be made a key player.

One imagines he would only encounter similar problems at big clubs like Liverpool and Man Utd, so that could give West Ham the edge in this transfer battle.