Sources: Chances of Chelsea or Liverpool signing Ronald Araujo in January revealed
Ronald Araujo remains high on the agenda of Premier League giants in their search for a high-quality new centre-back.
Sources told Football Insider that Liverpool were monitoring Araujo as a potential long-term centre-back replacement for Ibrahima Konate.
This comes after talks between Liverpool and Crystal Palace over Marc Guehi hit a roadblock after the deal collapsed on transfer deadline day.
Moreover, Football Insider exclusively revealed that Liverpool will turn down any offers for Konate as they seek to keep him at the club.
If the Frenchman fails to extend his current deal with the Reds, this puts greater emphasis on bringing the Uruguayan to Anfield as a like-for-like replacement.
Chelsea and Liverpool hoping to agree lower fee for Ronald Araujo after release clause expired
As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Chelsea have now joined the race to sign the Barcelona star following an injury crisis at centre-back.
The Uruguay international previously had a £52million release clause which expired in July with the new figure rocketing up to €1billion (£870.1m).
Speaking on the Inside Track podcast about Liverpool and Chelsea’s transfer negotiation aspirations, I explained: “I don’t see any move in January for Araujo.
“Obviously, I don’t think Barcelona would want to weaken their squad midway through the season as they’ll have ambitions to win La Liga again and to go far in the Champions League this season.
“It’ll be interesting to see what Barcelona’s financial situation is. Come next summer, we all know how many issues they’ve had over the last couple of seasons, registering players, signing players as well.
“So, if there’s an opportunity there to cash in on them and make a profit on them, then maybe something could happen with Araujo, but it does seem the player himself is very happy.
“At Barcelona, he’s in no rush to leave. He is on the contract until 2031. I think there was a release clause in that deal for around £52m.
“So again, [it was a] relatively cheap fee for such an experienced and top class defender as well. So I’m sure there’ll be clubs who’ll be monitoring the situation.”
Murillo offers Chelsea alternative centre-back solution
Former Man United and Sunderland chief scout Mick Brown exclusively told Football Insider that Chelsea are targeting a shock January move for Murillo from Nottingham Forest.
The Brazilian has become one of the best young centre-backs in the league since joining in August 2023 from Corinthians.
The uncertainty over Ange Postecoglou’s torrid start at the City Ground has prompted key personnel to reconsider their future ahead of the January transfer window.
For the 23-year-old, he should be enticed by the prospect of heading to Stamford Bridge, given he would easily be first-choice in a depleted Blues defence.
Injuries to Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana have left Enzo Maresca with headaches at the heart of the defence and Murillo would be the man to fix the defensive woes.