Brazilian forward Vitor Roque, 18, is poised to make a move to Spanish powerhouse Barcelona in January. Club Athletico Paranaense announced on Saturday that Roque would play his final home game against Santos on Sunday before embarking on his European journey.

Barcelona had secured an agreement to acquire Roque from Athletico in July for a reported 40 million euros plus 21 million in add-ons, with the young player committing to a seven-year contract.

However, Barcelona's financial constraints and struggles with La Liga's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations had hindered the registration of new signings in the past two seasons, casting uncertainty on Roque's status.

The club, though, has managed to free up space in the salary cap due to a long-term knee injury to midfielder Gavi. This development will allow Barcelona to include Roque in their squad in January, providing much-needed depth behind the 36-year-old forward Robert Lewandowski.

Roque, recovering from a two-month ankle injury, returned to action last weekend with a 26-minute appearance in a goalless draw against Vasco. In Friday's match against Cruzeiro, he played for 45 minutes and scored his first goal since September.

Hailing from the same Cruzeiro academy that produced the legendary Ronaldo Nazario, Roque joined Athletico at the beginning of 2022, accumulating 28 goals in 80 appearances.

In the previous year, he played a pivotal role in helping the team reach the Copa Libertadores final.

Having earned his first cap for Brazil in March, Roque made history as the youngest debutant for the five-time world champions at 18 years and 25 days old, a record previously held by Ronaldo, who debuted for Brazil at 17 in 1994.