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Liverpool want Barcelona starlet, a good deal?

The Uruguay international is contracted at Camp Nou until the summer of 2023 and that has put the Blaugrana in the back foot.

Liverpool

Kolkata, December 1: As per rumours in Spain, former Premier League champions Liverpool have expressed their interest in Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo and are set to go head to head with rivals Chelsea for the signature of the 22-year-old.

The Uruguay international is contracted at Camp Nou until the summer of 2023 and that has put the Blaugrana in the back foot.

The Catalan giants have already made a failed attempt to tie the young defender down with a new long-term deal but contract negotiations are believed to have reached a dead-end.

The Spanish giants are undergoing a difficult situation financially and the two parties are reported to be miles apart in terms of wages. And, that has alerted both Liverpool and Chelsea as they look to lure the defender away on possibly a bargain.

Barcelona may have no option but to sell the Uruguayan while they can and reinvest the money in rebuilding their squad.

Although both Chelsea and Liverpool are not short of options at the heart of the defence but Araujo's availability has alerted both Premier League giants. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is reportedly a huge admirer of the ball-playing defender and sees him a long-term replacement of Virgil van Dijk.

The Reds suffered a centre-back crisis last season and with Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip both turning 31 before next season begins, they have to eventually look for successors of the duo in the long run. Ibrahima Konate was signed last summer from RB Leipzig and the 22-year-old has settled in quite well at Anfield often rotating with Matip. Konate's arrival has however affected Joe Gomez in a negative way with the Englishman having played just 311 minutes across all competitions this campaign.

Outside the aforementioned four names, the Reds also have Nathaniel Phillips who made a remarkable impact last season during the injury-crisis at the backline.

The likes of young defenders like Billy Koumetio, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg are all there and there are high hopes from all three. Van Dijk, Matip and Konate all look indispensable at the moment and unless Liverpool part ways with any of the other options especially Gomez, it seems unlikely that the Reds would move for Araujo.

Gomez has recently been strongly linked with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United and a good offer might tempt the Reds to sell the 24-year-old. In that case, Araujo could prove to be a more than capable replacement of the Englishman an could potentially partner Konate at the heart of the defence at Anfield for many years to come.

Story first published: Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 10:20 [IST]
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