Ronald Araujo is heading to Anfield. Photo: Getty Images
Liverpool have bolstered their defensive stocks with a loan deal for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, with the option to buy for $AUD 90 million.
The 27-year-old, who is contracted to the LaLiga giant until 2031, has made over 200 appearances since breaking through to the first team in 2019 and underwent a medical in the UK over the weekend.
He did not travel with Hansi Flick’s squad for their most recent pre-season friendlies and the Uruguayan is seen as a key off-season move given Virgil van Dijk is the only fit senior central defender given Joe Gomez’s injury, Ibrahima Konate’s move to Real Madrid and the tender experience of recruit Jeremy Jacquet, 21, from Rennes. 18-year-old Ifeanyi Ndukwe started against Monaco overnight alongside van Dijk.
Will you sneak Araujo into your SuperCoach EPL side? SIGN UP HERE: Have you signed up for SuperCoach EPL? Get your team selected now!
After only 11 starts last term for the club, he provides an experienced solution at both central defence and also right back.
Former Liverpool striker and compatriot Darwin Nunez wrote on X: “I wish you the best in this great club, friend @RonaldAraujo_4.
“I’m deeply glad that you can feel what the affection and support of the @LFC fans is like, they are special and they’re going to make you feel it that way, now you’re a Red too, from afar always wishing you the best ¡VAMO ARRIBA!”
Araujo took time off in November 2025 to recover from depression.
Meanwhile, there is a gap in expectations between the Reds and Paris Saint-Germain over a pursuit of winger Bradley Barcola, Sky Sports reports.
The European champions rate their French winger at $AUD 277 million, and although the player is reportedly interested, it is pricing the Premier League side out.
While a move for the 23-year-old would be a blockbuster replacement for Mohamed Salah, another option reportedly being explored is for 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye.
The right wingers, who made his PSG senior debut at 16 years of age, became the youngest African player to score at a World Cup, when he scored for Senegal against France.
These reports come as Andoni Iraola comes to grips with expectations ahead of his first season at Anfield.
A sell out crowd at home watched his first outing in the dugout as the Reds went down 3-2 to Monaco, surrendering a two-goal lead for the second match in a row, after a raft of substitutions.
“It was quite similar to the game we played against Leeds,” Iraola told LFC TV after the match.
“We played a good first half, especially a good 30 minutes. Right now we probably don’t have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this. They deserved to turn around the game.
“We won the first two pre-season games, but the last two we cannot sustain the level we want for all of the game. As soon as we made some changes, players start to get tired and we cannot sustain that level. So, we have work to do.”
In a positive, Alisson, Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk returned from their World Cup breaks while Florian Wirtz and Alexander Wirtz continued to show progress.