Agent hints at Barcelona interest in Benfica defender | OneFootball

Barcelona are in the market for a new centre-back, with the plan being for one to arrive in January – or in the summer at the very latest. They have been linked with Nico Schlotterbeck and Marc Guehi among others, and now a new name could come to the fore.

Barcelona’s vision for their new central defender is someone that can also operate as a full-back, which perfectly fits the description of Tomas Araujo. The 23-year-old Benfica player is capable of being used across the backline, which would make him an attractive prospect for sporting director Deco, his fellow Portuguese.

Araujo’s agent has now taken the opportunity to flirt with Barcelona over his client. As per Fabrizio Romano (via MD), the Catalans were name-dropped by Ali Barat in relation to the Benfica defender.

“Araujo has qualities that modern coaches look for, as they all play with very forward defences, as you know, especially teams like Barcelona. I am very sure that many important clubs will look for Tomás again in the summer. The excellent thing about Tomas is that he has fundamental characteristics, such as his speed and his technical ability.”

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Barcelona unlikely to consider move for Araujo

Despite these comments from Barat, it would be a surprise to see Barcelona make a move for Araujo. For starters, he is not a left-sided central defender, which is the exact profile that Deco is looking for – given that the player that arrives would be a replacement for the already-departed Inigo Martinez.

Secondly, he is under contract at Benfica until 2029, so there would be little chance of a cut-price deal. Barcelona cannot afford to pay full price for a new centre-back due to their financial woes, especially given that a striker and left winger are also on the agenda for the summer.