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Liverpool set to land Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo on season-long loan with option to buy
Liverpool are set to finalise the signing of Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.
Andoni Iraola's side havereached an agreement to sign the Barcelona captain on a season-long loan deal, with a non-mandatory option to make the move permanent for an undisclosed fee.
Liverpool have targeted Araujo to add depth to their centre-back options, following the loss of Ibrahima Konate to Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Araujo will add an experienced option alongside Virgil van Dijk, helping to ease the adaption of summer signing Jeremy Jacquet and 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni, who is returning from an ACL lay-off.
Why are Barcelona letting Araujo leave on loan for Liverpool?
Araujo will hope to rebuild his career at Liverpool after a frustrating couple of seasons in Catalonia. The Uruguay international has struggled for form and fitness in recent campaigns and took a break from football to focus on his mental health last season, amid fierce criticism.
The criticism followed a series of high-profile mistakes in Europe. Araujo was sent off with Barcelona leading during a Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain in 2024, and received another costly red card as the Spaniards were thrashed by Chelsea in last season's competition.
What will Araujo bring to the Liverpool side?
Firstly, Araujo will offer a bridge of experience between Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool's centre-back prospects Jacquet and Leoni.
Van Dijk turned 35 in July and played more than 6000 minutes for club and country last season, including every minute of Liverpool'sPremier League campaign. It was a huge work-load on the Dutch defender and the addition of Araujo, alongside the long-serving Joe Gomez, eases the reliance on Jacquet and Leoni, who are yet to feature in England's top tier.
Araujo has a wealth of experience and has made 213 appearances for Barcelona, winning threeLa Liga titles.
Though his distribution has been critiqued, Araujo ranked fourth in La Liga last season among centre-backs for the percentage of short passes completed per 90, and sixth for progressive passes completed. He also ranked third for successful dribbles and led all centre-backs in the league for goals and headed goals per 90, scoring three times.
He'll become the fourth Uruguayan to represent Liverpool, after Sebastien Coates, Luis Suarez and Darwin Nunez.
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