Even though the summer transfer window closed only a few weeks ago, attention is already being paid to the January midseason trading window and how Barcelona intends to further strengthen their lineup.

Despite signing Oriol Romeu in the summer, reports have been circulating that the La Liga winners may try to recruit another defensive midfielder.

A number of targets have also been identified for that purpose, including athletes like Jorginho of Arsenal and Guido Rodriguez of Real Betis, whose 2024 contract expirations may make them affordable in January.

Barcelona’s top target for January is Vitor RoqueThe acquisition of Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense, however, will be Barcelona’s first objective during the January transfer window, according to the most recent report from Mundo Deportivo’s Roger Torello.Roque was signed by the Blaugrana in the summer itself in a deal worth €30 million plus €31 million in contingent fees.But because of the club’s Financial Fair Play concerns and Athletico Paranaense’s wish to keep him until the end of their season, it was decided that the teenage forward will stay in Brazil until the beginning of 2024.However, once the Brazilian team was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, it was considered whether to bring Roque to Barcelona during the summer, but nothing came of it.In order to have a quality backup for Robert Lewandowski, the La Liga champions now make it a priority to add Roque to the team without fail in January.The arrival of Roque is being prioritized because the 35-year-old superstar has had a sluggish start to the season and could from frequent rest and rotation given the heavy schedule of fixtures.Roque turning into a prolific scorerThe 18-year-old, who recently signed with Barcelona, has been putting the finishing touches on his grand entrance into Catalonia by scoring goals at Athletico Paranaense just for pleasure. In fact, Tigrinho, one of the most productive young players in the world, has already scored 20 goals and assisted on eight more for the Brazilian club in 2023 in all competitions.Roque’s arrival in January might therefore be a major plus for Barcelona, as Brazil coach Ramon Menezes is confident that the young player would easily fit in with Xavi’s squad.