Ronald Araujo appears to have plenty of interest in his services ahead of the summer transfer window. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are among those to have been credited with an interest in the Barcelona defender as his future at the Camp Nou grows ever more uncertain.
He has just over a year left to run on his contract with the Spanish giants and whilst they will of course be keen to secure his future, an agreement over an extended stay has not yet been forthcoming. Amid the failure to come to an agreement, it appears that clubs in the Premier League have made an effort to tempt him into quitting the Catalans.
As per transfer expert Gerard Romero, Premier League trio Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have each tabled proposals. The Gunners have reportedly offered him €6m (£5m), with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool matching that offer. Elsewhere, Manchester United appear to have gone one step further by tabling €8m (£6.7m).
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Whether these are offers directly to Barcelona - or indeed wages that he could potentially earn should a move be facilitated in 12 months’ time remains to be seen - but either way the Gunners and their Premier League counterparts would be saving a significant amount.
As it stands, Araujo is valued at £31.5m by transfermarkt, a considerably larger amount than the three offers. Meanwhile, managing to secure his services on a free transfer would signify a considerable bargain for whoever secures his services.
Araujo, 23, has enjoyed a breakout couple of campaigns despite Barcelona’s dire straits. Over the past few seasons, he has accumulated 70 appearances for the club and played a key role in their 2020/21 Copa del Rey success. He has also gone on to accumulate seven caps for Uruguay in that time having made his debut back in October 2020.
Should Arsenal be successful in their pursuit of Araujo, then the youngster would likely face plenty of competition for a starting berth at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta appears to have settled on Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes as his preferred centre-back pairing, whilst Rob Holding provides back-up for now.
Promising young Frenchman William Saliba is set to return to north London at the end of the campaign having enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell with Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
