Liverpool are reportedly showing a ‘strong interest’ in signing Barcelona star Ronald Araujo, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk have been the first-choice centre-back pairing for Arne Slot this season. Apart from them, the Reds have Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez for this position.
However, Gomez was heavily linked with a move away from the club last summer and has found it difficult to play regularly this term due to injury problems. On the other hand, Van Dijk’s future continues to remain a subject of speculation as his existing deal will expire at the end of this season.
He is still a key player for Liverpool so keeping hold of him by tying him down to a fresh term would be the right decision. However, he will turn 35 next year and the Merseyside club should start planning to hire a new centre-back as a potential long-term replacement for him.
Fichajes state that Slot’s side have started doing that and have identified Araujo as the ‘priority’ target having been impressed by his performances in La Liga.
Araujo to Liverpool
The Reds are willing to launch a formal £86m proposal to persuade the Catalan giants to cash-in on him. Barcelona might find it difficult to reject the offer if they receive it amid their financial difficulties and the Uruguayan would be tempted to move to the Premier League.
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Araujo, standing at 6ft 3in tall, has the recovery pace to play in a high line and is a robust defender. Moreover, he is excellent in the air and has the ability to chip in with some important goals.
However, he isn’t a composed player and has the tendency to make errors. Additionally, he has struggled with fitness problems in recent times and as a result, he hasn’t been able to play regularly under Hansi Flick this season.
Therefore, spending big money to hire him might not be the right decision and the Anfield club would be better off exploring other options to strengthen the defensive department.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether Liverpool eventually make a concrete approach to secure his service in the upcoming transfer window.
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