Ronald Araujo ‘to join’ Liverpool on season-long loan from Barcelona | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano reports that Ronald Araujo will join Liverpool on a season-long loan from Barcelona, with the club covering his salary and an option to buy. Liverpool have issues at centre-back and new head coach Andoni Iraola has requested the defender.

The move hinges on Araujo, 27, travelling to Liverpool on Saturday rather than to Udine, where Barcelona face Udinese and Nottingham Forest in a triangular. Both clubs are aligned, with approval from Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco.

At Anfield he will fill the gap left by Ibrahima Konaté, who departed on a free to Real Madrid, and is set to line up alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Araujo returned from the World Cup injured but is now fit after building up his training. Flick does not see him as first choice, preferring Pau Cubarsí and Gerard Martín, with Eric Garcia, the fit-again Andreas Christensen and academy prospect Álvaro Cortés also options.

Only Christensen played fewer matches than Araujo among Barcelona’s defenders last season. He missed more than two months for mental rest after an early red card against Chelsea in a 3-0 defeat.

He still scored four goals, three decisive in wins, against Girona for 2-1 in the last minute while up front, a header versus Rayo for 1-0, and in the cup at Albacete for 1-2.

His departure opens another vacancy in the captaincy group, with Marc-André ter Stegen also leaving on loan to Ajax and Robert Lewandowski making a permanent move to the United States.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”