Manchester United and Chelsea have joined Premier League rivals Arsenal in the growing race to sign Sporting CP left-back Maxi Araujo, according to reports in Portugal.
The 26-year-old full-back, who can operate as a conventional left-back or further forward in a wing-back role, was one of Sporting’s top performers during the 2025/26 season, scoring seven goals and adding six assists in all competitions.
Araujo has also impressed at the World Cup so far this summer, notching two goals and an assist for a disappointing Uruguay side to date.
Indeed, Marcelo Bielsa’s men face the prospect of crashing out of the competition if they lose to Spain and other results in Group H go against them.
But in terms of Araujo’s club future, Portuguese outlet Record claims that Man Utd are interested in a deal for the player and sent representatives to watch him during Uruguay’s 2-2 draw with Cape Verde last Sunday.
The report adds that Chelsea are also monitoring the defender as they seek a like-for-like replacement for Marc Cucurella, who joined Real Madrid in a £52million deal earlier this month.
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Arsenal first in for Araujo
It had been reported back in April that Arsenal had actually made ‘initial contact’ with Araujo over a switch to The Emirates, although the reigning Premier League champions have since completed a permanent deal for Piero Hincapie.
Arteta was said to have been impressed by Araujo’s performances during Sporting’s two Champions League quarter-final ties against his side.
For their part Sporting remain in a strong negotiating position as Araujo has three years remaining on his contract, which also includes a whopping €80m (£69.3m) release clause.
As for the player himself, Araujo recently refused to rule out the prospect of leaving Sporting this summer as he also paid tribute to his club teammate, Ivan Fresneda, who watched him in action for Uruguay in Miami.
“I’m very happy at Sporting, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Araujo said after Uruguay’s disappointing draw with Cape Verde.
“I was happy to be able to talk to Fresneda, I’m grateful that he’s here and I love playing with him. I hope we can play together for a long time.”
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