Manchester United have “called” the entourage of Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque in “recent days” in an attempt to persuade him into making a move to Old Trafford, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The Brazilian is believed to be close to making a switch to Barcelona, with the Catalan club having agreed to pay a fee that could reach €45m (£39m).

However, there are doubts that Barca can register Roque this summer due to financial problems and there have been discussions about a transfer being delayed until the January transfer window.

Mundo Deportivo claim it has led to United, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain contacting the 18-year-old’s representatives to see whether he would “change his mind”.

However, at the moment, Roque is dead set on joining Barcelona and there is no way he will back out of the move unless the deal collapses.

A whole host of Premier League clubs, other than United, have been watching Roque

In addition to United and Tottenham, both Chelsea and Newcastle had also been heavily linked with the Brazilian international in recent months.

It has, though, been known for a while that Roque wanted a switch to the Camp Nou, and rivals have stepped back from the race for that reason.

Barca are said to be keen to add him to their first-team squad so he can be Robert Lewandowski’s understudy.

Comparisons to the Brazilian Ronaldo

Due to his pace, strength and finishing ability, many observers in Brazil have already compared the teenager to the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid striker.

Of course, plenty of other young players have been similarly labelled, and haven’t managed to live up to hype, so we shall have to wait and see whether Roque is the real deal or not if he does complete his move to Spain in the coming days and weeks.