Arsenal are reputedly interested in signing Ronald Araujo from Barcelona during this winter transfer window.
Araujo, 25, has missed much of this season following surgery after injuring a tendon in his right hamstring while playing for Uruguay in their Copa America quarter-final against Brazil this summer. However, the defender returned to training at the start of December and played for the first time in the Catalan club’s Copa del Rey tie against fourth-tier team Barbastro.
Before that setback, Araujo made the La Liga team of the season alongside Antonio Rudiger for the second time, having previously done so in 2022. That is the same year the player last signed a contract, with an £840m buyout clause, meaning his current deal expires in 18 months.
Mundo Deportivo claims Barcelona want the player to sign an extension, but there is reportedly a reluctance to discuss renewing with the club from Araujo. Their reputed attempts to sign Jonathan Tah when the Bayer Leverkusen defender becomes a free agent at the end of this season appear to be behind his hesitancy and that of his agents.
However, that is potentially beneficial for the Gunners, with the club reportedly making a move to tempt the player into leaving this window. They are not alone, though, with Gazzetta dello Sport revealing that Juventus have made a loan offer that includes an option to buy the player. There are further suggestions in Italy that a deal has materialised and that Araujo has agreed to leave, but Spanish outlets are playing down how far along any move is.
Links to Arsenal are emerging days after manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged during a press conference before the Newcastle United match that “whatever is in the market, we’re very alert”. Araujo, who has previously played at right-back for club and country, could help deputise in the continued absence of Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu over the coming weeks.
