Two days ago, we covered claims from Spain which stated Arsenal have moved to tempt Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo.
The Uruguay international’s deal lasts until 2026 and and claims from Italy have stated he has a deal in place with Juventus.
Friday’s edition of Marca states Arsenal are in the picture to sign the defender and looks at the claims about Juve.
The La Liga side have no information about the Turin club’s agreement with the 25-year-old and are ‘amazed’ by these repeated reports from Italy. On the other hand, they are aware he’s dissatisfied over not featuring against Athletic in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Araújo seems to be reluctant to commit his long-term future to Barca and it could force them to consider selling him.
Mundo Deportivo state the centre-back knows Arsenal and the Serie A side are ‘willing to go after him’ and has informed the Barca dressing room that he’s seriously considering leaving the club.
Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez have been the first-choice centre-back pairing under Hansi Flick and Barcelona are working on signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah for free in the summer.
Araújo knows he won’t have a leading role at the Camp Nou and if he were to leave, his priority is to move to the Premier League. In addition to this, he feels the Gunners’ style under Mikel Arteta suits him. This gives Arsenal an upper hand over the Old Lady to sign him in January.
Barca won’t sanction a loan move in January but are leaving the door for a sale if there’s an ‘irrefutable’ offer. If the South American were to not sign an extension, they will sell him at the latest by next summer.
Mundo claim Arsenal and Juventus have shown ‘strong interest’ in Araújo and these two clubs may convert it into an offer ‘in the coming days’.
Arteta’s side can sign the Uruguayan in January if their offer were to convince Barcelona.
