Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque raising his hands in anger, with David Moyes in a circular frame inset
Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque raising his hands in anger, with David Moyes in a circular frame inset
The Toffees are going into the January transfer window with one priority: to sign a striker.
David Moyes has Thierno Barry as his only current senior striker option, and if anything were to happen to the Frenchman, his side would be in trouble.
The Blues thought they had done enough to land AS Monaco's Folarin Balogun on deadline day, but the £40million fell through after an issue during the medical cropped up.
Though the Friedkin Group announced their plans to sell the L3 club in October, the Houston-based company has committed to back Moyes while they are still here.
That said, TFG could give Moyes one final transfer boost for Everton with Roque, but why are Barcelona so bothered about the situation?
Barcelona alert to Everton's Vitor Roque situation in £8.3m update
Everton are keen on signing Roque from Palmeiras, whom he joined in February of 2025.
The 21-year-old has been backed to do great things by the likes of Ronaldo Nazario and other Brazilian legends.
The 5'9" striker is reportedly valued at around £41.7m by Palmeiras, a fee which TFG may be able to afford considering what Balogun would have cost them in the summer.
According to Sport, Barcelona are "very aware" of the speculation surrounding Roque, who is gaining lots of Premier League interest.
The 29-time LaLiga champions know the likes of Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham are keen on their former striker, as they are due 20 per cent of any fee that reaches over £33m.
That said, a fee of £41.7m would help Barca land a further £8.3m in funds, if Palmeiras were to sell.
It's understood that this money would be important for the Catalan giants, who have suffered from financial issues in recent years.
Is Roque in good form ahead of January window?
Luckily for Everton, Barry is in great form for them and has remained injury-free so far this season.
However, the winter period is coming up, and it would surely be too much for the 24-year-old to start every game for the Toffees.
Roque has netted 29 times for Palmeiras in 97 games, and despite the poor standard in the Brazilian first division, that should still give the Blues confidence given his age, background and reputation.
However, Roque has failed to score in each of his last seven games, which could suggest that his head is already at Hill Dickinson.
But Everton know that sometimes taking a gamble on a rough-edged Brazilian number nine can pay off.