According to reports, Liverpool have made a ‘significant offer’ to sign a FC Barcelona star as an alternative to Crystal Palace standout Marc Guehi.
Liverpool had a near-perfect summer transfer window as they invested £414.5m on several marquee signings as the biggest spending club in Europe.
Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong were their most notable signings, though the Reds suffered a blow on deadline day.
This came as they missed out on Guehi after reaching an agreement on a reported £35m deal with Crystal Palace, who pulled the plug after failing to land a suitable replacement.
This leaves Liverpool short at the back and they would have a severe problem if Virgil van Dijk and/or Ibrahima Konate suffer an injury.
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Liverpool are also at risk of missing out on Guehi completely, as the talented centre-back is among the most valuable footballers due to become a free agent in 2026 and is attracting interest from several European and Premier League giants.
This means Liverpool may need to turn to an alternative and they are linked with Barcelona star Ronald Araujo.
A report from Spanish outlet Fichajes claims Liverpool have made a ‘significant offer’ for the Uruguay international worth around 50 million euros (£43m).
The report adds:
‘Liverpool’s board considers the Uruguayan a serious option to bolster their defence. The Merseyside club is looking for a reliable center-back, especially after the problems they have had securing the arrival of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.’
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Liverpool’s reported move for Araujo comes as Chelsea plan to ‘make an offer’ for Guehi, with former Premier League chief scout Mick Brown claiming to Football Insider that the Blues have an ‘advantage’ in the race to sign the Palace star.
“I was surprised Liverpool didn’t have more competition in the summer,” Brown told Football Insider.
“So now we’ve got all of these clubs interested in him and planning to make offers to him when he becomes available on a free, and that’s not a shock to anybody.
“He’s England’s first-choice centre-back and has years of experience in the Premier League, so he would improve whichever side end up getting him.
“Guehi has continuously showed what he can do both for Palace and for England, and it’s no surprise some of these elite clubs have been having a look at him now.
“It’s a huge bargain if you can get a player of Guehi’s quality on a free transfer. Chelsea are the latest team I’ve heard are looking to make a move because he came through their academy so that could be a bit of an advantage to them.
“The manager wants to improve his defensive options, so of course Guehi is going to be an option, but I expect they’ll have to wait until the end of the season rather than doing it in January.
“He would be an upgrade on the options they’ve got there at the moment, so it would be more of a surprise if they didn’t try to bring him in, to be honest.”