Iraola hails “very, very good” Araujo and urges Liverpool to seal £47m permanent deal | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola has said he has been impressed by the performances of Ronald Araujo and hopes Liverpool can keep the on loan defender.

Araujo has made an immediate impact since signing on loan from Barcelona for the campaign. The Uruguay international has featured at right-back in recent games and has helped Liverpool to important wins against Ipswich Town and Atletico Madrid.

Araujo was impressive again as Liverpool opened theirChampions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Tuesday night, assisting Dominik Szoboszlai's equaliser as the Reds recovered from going a goal down.

The 27-year-old has caught the eye of his new manager in an unfavored right-back role, with Iraola admitting Araujo has been 'very, very good'. Liverpool have the option to sign the defender permanently for £47m at the end of the campaign.

Iraola on Araujo: “Very, very good” — Liverpool boss says “I hope we can keep him” after Atletico win

"I think he's been very, very good. The other day [against Ipswich Town] and he has been, I would say, even better today," Iraola said in hispost-match press conference.

"I think he's defending really well his side, but also sometimes because he's a centre-back we underrate his offensive side. Today he gives a great assist to Dom Szoboszlai.

"He's made a couple of very good serves from his position and I'm very happy with him. Very happy. He's come with the willingness to show that he belongs to this level, and I hope we can keep him there because he's in a lovely place."

Liverpool's win over Atletico Madrid was Iraola's first taste of Champions League football and the Spaniard was delighted to get up and running in Europe with a win.

"I really enjoyed it. There is a part where you are in charge of the game and you cannot think too much about the atmosphere. But especially after the 2-1, we've had very good minutes there and we've had a couple of chances. We were pushing and you can feel the atmosphere in the stadium. Even in moments at the end where obviously they are attacking a little bit and you have to defend and players are tired. The people have helped us a lot and I'm very thankful."