Manchester City have shown an interest in signing Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo but teams like Chelsea and Man United are also expected to compete fiercely in this transfer battle.
Araujo is highly rated by Xavi but as per the latest reports, the defender has rejected the club’s first offer of a new contract. At the end of this season, the 22-year-old will enter the final year of his contract and if he is not interested in signing a new deal then he might have plans to move out in the summer.
This is not the end of the world for Barcelona since they are obviously going to come up with a better offer but this initial rejection is great news for all the interested Premier League sides.
The 22-year-old has come up through the ranks at Barcelona and he’s played in 16 La Liga games so far this season.
Are Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United serious about signing Ronald Araujo?
As per HITC, Manchester City have already made contact with Ronald Araujo’s agent Edmundo Kabchi meaning Guardiola is very much serious about signing the centre-back.
But teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United are sure to enter this transfer battle at the end of the season since all of them are hunting for a central defender. As per some rumours, United and Chelsea have already made their offers to the player’s representatives.
Liverpool had been linked with Ronald Araujo during the January transfer window as they look to bring in someone who can give competition to Konate and Joel Matip. Matip and Konate are playing in tandem right now so there’s every chance that someone like Araujo can come in and cement that spot.
Ralf Rangnick has reportedly told the board that Harry Maguire will not be the ideal partner for Raphael Varane so Manchester United are also expected to be out in the market for a new centre-back.
Chelsea’s Christensen and Rudiger are out of contract during the summer so signing a new central defender is an utmost priority for the Blues. If Tuchel cannot convince Antonio Rudiger to put pen on paper to a new deal then the manager is sure to go after someone like Ronald Araujo.
Ronald Araujo has offers from Manchester United and Chelsea already, and they are 'infinitely better' than the offer Barça can make.
— @orioldomenech via @OnzeTv3 pic.twitter.com/gDAMa3wdTP
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 5, 2022
Will Ronald Araujo choose a move to Man City over others?
Man City have been stellar in defence this season, conceding just 14 goals in 23 Premier League games so far and Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias are currently two of the best centre-back pairings in European football.
City also have John Stones and Nathan Ake at their disposal so we don’t see why Guardiola needs to bring in another central defender.
They will first have to get rid of one or maybe two defenders in the summer or else we don’t see Ronald Araujo choosing a move to the Etihad.
If the 22-year-old is moving out then he will want guaranteed game time and teams like Chelsea, Man United or Liverpool will be the ones who can provide him with that indulgence.
Barcelona will obviously fight tooth and nail to hold onto Ronald Araujo by making him sign a new deal but if they cannot crack it by the end of this season then Xavi and co will definitely look to cash in on him asap.
