Transfer News: Manchester United to challenge Chelsea for Barcelona star Ronald Araujo
According to the Spanish TV channel El Chiringuito (h/t The Express), Manchester United have proposed a contract offer to Barcelona star Ronald Araujo amidst interest from Chelsea. He has been a revelation for the Blaugrana in recent years and is arguably among the best young centre-backs in world football at the moment.
Araujo will enter the final year of his current contract at the Nou Camp in the summer transfer window. That makes him a great prospect to be prised away after this season as Barca are scrambling to keep hold of him. Man United and the Blues are keeping close tabs on the 22-year-old’s performances.
The Catalans have made a proposal worth around £64,000-a-week to renew the Uruguayan’s contract, which amounts to £3.3million-a-year. However, the Red Devils have eclipsed that offer with an £8.3million per year contract, which would give him weekly wages of around £160,000-a-week. Thomas Tuchel’s side will need to show a strong reaction if they hope to sign him in the future, looking at this situation.
Will Chelsea put a higher bid?
We need to retaliate at the earliest not to let our direct rivals secure the driving seat in the race to sign the 22-year-old. After all, the centre-back could be useful for us after this campaign, considering the potential crisis in the backline that could unravel in the summer transfer window.
The La Liga star’s stance following this latest update is unknown at the moment, but we must better the Manchester club’s offer to facilitate a transfer. That could be costly given the interest in the player.
The South American is one such talent as he has made an immediate impact at Camp Nou after achieving promotion to the first team. He is arguably their best central defender and has not fully reached his potential. Given our potential need for a sumemr overhaul in defence, Araujo could prove to be a wise investment.
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Three of our defensive options in Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, and Cesar Azpilicueta, could leave for free at the end of the season. Their exits could put us in a precarious situation since the defence has been our strong suit under Thomas Tuchel. We would need to bring in quality options to safeguard ourselves in a worst-case scenario.
Moreover, with Thiago Silva entering the latter stages of his playing career while Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr need more time to become a regular, we are forced to look at adequate replacements. Araujo can be that man and now, it is up to the board to back Tuchel by adding him to the squad. Hence, we must do our best and pip Ralf Rangnick’s side, along with the Blaugrana club to secure his signature.