Xavi confident that 19-year-old Barcelona wonderkid will make it big at the club

Barcelona’s Vitor Roque celebrated his 19th birthday just a few days ago, and it is safe to say he got his dream present in the form of his signing for Barcelona.

The Brazilian prodigy was fixed on his desire to don the garnet-and-blue shirt, and it is only fitting that he has started well at the club.

Despite arriving back in January, however, Tigrinho has seen few minutes under Xavi. He has participated in just nine games, averaging only 23 minutes per game in La Liga.

Mundo Deportivo reveal the reason behind the same.

The key factors

According to the Spanish outlet, Xavi has been judiciously utilising Roque’s services for a number of reasons.

For starters, he just made the switch from the Brazilian league to La Liga in what is a massive step up, that too after a vacation of three weeks where he even got married. Protecting him from the hype, thus, became of utmost importance.

Further, Roque was just coming off a long injury that saw him miss two months of action for Athletico Paranaense towards the end of last year.

The player recently agreed that he was still at 75% fitness, and the manager felt that gradual incorporation with physical training was the way to go.

Xavi’s faith

Mundo Deportivo further add that Roque was a signing that Xavi personally requested for the club’s future and that the Spanish tactician is very satisfied with Tigrinho’s work.

The youngster has shown a special zeal to learn and a great attitude from his first day at the club. His performances on the field have backed his potential, as he shows a great understanding of spaces and timing.

Xavi thus believes that Roque will make it big at Barcelona, both in the short term and the long term and has complete confidence in the 19-year-old wonderkid.

Moving forward, the Brazilian ace will have regular opportunities that will only increase in frequency as time passes.