Liverpool are reportedly considering making Ronald Araujo’s loan move from Barcelona permanent, following an extremely promising start to life at Anfield.
The Uruguayan has become a cult hero for the Reds in the opening months of his time on Merseyside, doing an excellent job since filling in at right-back.
Araujo’s passion, tenacity and quality have all come to the fore for Liverpool, with Virgil van Dijk hailing his teammate after the 1-0 win away to Bournemouth last weekend:
“He is a great player. I don’t think he was the captain of Barcelona for no reason. He is a fantastic player. He is not a natural right-back, but he has filled in the best way possible, and I am pleased for him. It has been an intense couple of weeks for him.
“So hopefully now in this international break, he can get a little bit of rest before the chaos will start when we come back. It is down to the whole team, but obviously he did very well so far.”
There is, of course, a fair chance that Araujo returns to Barca at the end of the season, but on current evidence, making the move permanent makes complete sense for Liverpool.
According to Football Insider, Liverpool “won’t rush into a decision” regarding the 27-year-old, but he may extend his stay at the club in preparation for Van Dijk leaving.
The captain is in the final year of his current deal, and it remains to be seen if he will stay on, even though the vast majority of Reds supporters will hope he does.
It is claimed that Andoni Iraola “wants to manage” Van Dijk’s minutes this season, which could in turn allow Araujo to prove himself in his preferred centre-back role.
Is a permanent move for Ronald Araujo a no-brainer for Liverpool?
It is early days, and there is a chance that Araujo’s form could dip at some point – he has a reputation for being erratic at times – but there is little to suggest that a permanent move would be a bad thing at this point.
The Uruguay international has captained Barca for a reason, and it may simply be that he isn’t quite elite enough on the ball to thrive under Hansi Flick, rather than not being an excellent all-round footballer.
Araujo is already a hugely popular figure at Liverpool, but he is backing up his character with consistently strong performances, being praised by Iraola in recent weeks:
“He has done very well. Very well. The other day against Ipswich Town and now today even better. He is defending his side of the pitch very well, and sometimes maybe we underestimate his attacking. Today he provided a great assist. I’m very happy with him. He has come here wanting to show he is at this level, so I hope we can keep him there because he’s in a lovely place.”
At 27, Araujo has enough years in him to be a successful signing on a four or five-year deal, and if his current form continues, keeping him on is a no-brainer for Liverpool.