Everton are reportedly lining up a big-money move for Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque, with Barcelona watching closely, as the LaLiga giants would benefit financially from a deal going through.

We have reported previously that Everton are keen on bringing in a new centre-forward in January, after David Moyes was left with just one recognised striker, Thierno Barry, after the summer window.

Everton sold Beto to Fiorentina and came close to replacing him with Monaco star Folarin Balogun, before their move for the United States star collapsed on deadline day.

Barry, to his credit, has taken the challenge in his stride. The 24-year-old has notched 10 goals across all competitions this season, and is one of the Premier League’s form strikers.

That hasn’t put Everton off bringing in more competition up front, though, and Palmeiras star Roque is on their shortlist, according to reports from Brazil, as cited by Sport Witness.

Roque’s agent, Andre Cury, has reportedly ‘confirmed the interest from Everton,’ though they are far from the only team tracking him. “There are many European clubs interested in Vitor,” Cury said.

Palmeiras appear open to a sale in January, but only if their price tag is met. They are said to value Roque at a ‘minimum’ of €50million (£41.8m / $55.5m).

Barcelona keeping tabs on Vitor Roque, Everton developments

As mentioned, Barcelona will be keeping a close eye on Everton’s reported interest in Roque.

The Catalans paid around €30million (without add-ons) to sign Roque from Athletico Paranaense back in 2022. But the forward never made his mark at the Camp Nou, and was sold to Palmeiras three years later, following a largely underwhelming loan spell with Real Betis.

The 21-year-old has done much better back in Brazil, having scored 29 goals in 97 appearances for Palmeiras so far.

Sport Witness note that when Barcelona sold Roque to Palmeiras, they secured a sell-on clause worth 20%, if the transfer fee exceeds €41million.

Therefore, a €50million move to Everton would equate to a €10million windfall for Barcelona. They already recouped €25.5million by selling Roque, but a further €10million would be a valuable bonus.

Barcelona’s financial issues are well-known, and any money they could recoup from Roque would help them to strengthen their squad.

While Everton are keen to bring in a new striker, and have been linked with Roque previously, they are considering multiple targets.

TEAMtalk revealed previously that Everton are big admirers of Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi, though signing him could prove difficult amid growing competition.

The wider striker search also includes Dinamo Zagreb’s Dion Beljo, whose prolific scoring record and 6ft5in frame have attracted attention from several Premier League sides, and Rennes forward Esteban Lepaul, where Everton have got some of the strongest interest.

Real Sociedad’s Orri Óskarsson is another name being monitored, as we exclusively revealed last month.

With this in mind, Roque is a player to watch, but it is too early to say whether he will be the player Everton focus on in the January window.