In a recent report, Sport revealed that Chelsea are set to rival Liverpool for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo next summer. It is understood that the Blues are in a good position to lure the Uruguayan youngster to Stamford Bridge at the end of this campaign when he will have just one year remaining in his Barca contract.
Araujo’s Impressive Season At The Nou Camp
The 22-year-old has done well to establish himself as a regular first-team starter at the Nou Camp this season. Araujo has featured in 14 matches for the Catalan outfit in this campaign so far, scoring one goal in the process on all fronts.
The Rivera-born sensation has caught the eye by averaging 0.8 tackles, 0.7 interceptions, 2.4 clearances and 0.5 shots per 90 minutes in La Liga. He has even been excellent when distributing possession from the back, based on his pass completion rate of 91.7% in league football (stats via whoscored).
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What Will Araujo Add To Chelsea Head Coach Thomas Tuchel’s Team?
Araujo has decent pace in his locker that helps him make some important recovering runs at the back. He can get stuck in with some solid tackles to make life difficult for the opposition. Sanding at 1.88m, the five-time Uruguay international can use his strength to win a few 50-50 aerial duels. Plus, the talented youngster is proficient at clearing the danger when needed and can even play his way out from the back.
An up-and-coming centre-back of Araujo’s potential will be a good acquisition for Chelsea as he will definitely increase the overall depth of their match-day squad. We can expect the Barca prospect to add some bite and steel to Thomas Tuchel‘s defensive department. He could also go on to become a future star at Stamford Bridge. However, there are some concerns over whether the Uruguayan sensation would be able to cope with the high intensity of English football.
At 22, Araujo’s best years are ahead of him, so the Blues would be wise to engineer a move to lure him to the English capital in the summer of 2022. Furthermore, he could also serve as an ideal long-term successor to Thiago Silva at the West London club.
