New Barcelona Striker Immediately Duet With Robert Lewandowski Against Las Palmas

New Barcelona striker Vitor Roque will make his debut against Las Palmas (X/@FCBarcelona).

JAKARTA - The new Barcelona star, Vitor Roque, will immediately have a duet with striker Robert Lewandowski against Las Palmas in the 2023/2024 La Liga match.

The match which became Roque's debut was held at the de Gran Canaria Stadium, Friday, January 5, 2024, early morning WIB.

Roque became Barca's new power after being recruited from Athletico Paranaense for 30 million euros. That value will increase to 31 million euros based on the bonuses Roque won.

The 18-year-old has joined Barca since last week and started training with the team. Manager Xavi Hernandez hopes Roque can make his debut and be matched with Lewandowski.

"He (Roque) will enter the squad. I hope he has been registered," said Xavi.

"We will not rush and let him step by step with us. He is still 18. So, we will not burden him with a big responsibility because we still need adaptation," he said.

Even though he is still young, Roque already has high match flight hours in Brazil. He can also play as a wing or take on the role number 9 or center forward.

"He is actually quite quick to adapt and ready to be played. Moreover, his training is also good. However, we have to be careful," said Xavi again.

"He can play together (Lewandowski) very well. He can play on the wing or number 9."

"This makes the sector more competitive because there are already Lewandowski, Ferran (Torres), Joao (Felix), Raphinha, and Lamine (Yamal). This is certainly a good thing," he said.

Roque showed his greatness at the forefront by scoring 28 goals from 81 games with Athletico Paranaense. Joining Barca was Roque's first experience in Europe.

"We will help him adapt. There is Raphinha who always accompanies his Brazilian colleagues. There is also Araujo (Ronald) who speaks Portuguese," said Xavi.

Xavi hopes that Roque can become Barca's new mainstay in the front lines. Especially with Lewandowski's declining performance.