Ronald Araujo has not yet kicked a ball for Liverpool but has already joined a very select group. The Uruguay international, who signed a season-long loan from Barcelona, became only the 17th loan signing in Liverpool's 134-year history. New head coach Andoni Iraola will hope Araujo, for whom Liverpool have an option to buy next summer for £47 million, can provide an immediate and longer-term answer to the centre-back issues that have plagued his opening weeks in charge.
Injury Crisis and Immediate Opportunity
Joe Gomez has joined the recovering Giovanni Leoni on the sidelines through injury. 18-year-old arrival Ifeanyi Ndukwe has impressed but is ineligible for competitive games this season, while Jeremy Jacquet's slated outing in Sunday's final Anfield friendly against Como would be his first since arriving from Rennes for £60 million. It means there is every chance Araujo steps straight into the starting line-up alongside captain Virgil van Dijk for the Premier League opener at Newcastle United the following week.
With more than 200 appearances and eight years of experience at Barcelona, Araujo should have no issues adapting to the demands of playing for a club of similar stature. Having been club captain at Camp Nou, he bolsters leadership qualities among a squad from which influential duo Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson departed during the summer.
A History of Loan Failures
However, Liverpool's record with loan signings is less than distinguished. With such moves a largely modern phenomenon, there were only two loanees to feature for the Reds before the Premier League era. Both were signed on the same day in 1895 to reinforce a seriously depleted squad ahead of their 'Test Match' - essentially a relegation play-off - against Burnley. James Cleland, a Scottish forward, and centre-back compatriot Robert Neill both played in the game, only for Liverpool to lose 1-0. Neill was signed on a permanent basis the following year and retains the distinction of being one of the shortest players to feature for the club in the position at 5ft 4ins, but lasted less than a year before leaving.
The next loanees were all goalkeepers brought in as emergency cover during the mid-1990s tenure of Roy Evans: Mark Gayle, Mark Prudhoe and Alec Chamberlain. None made an appearance, although Chamberlain was on the bench for the League Cup final win over Bolton Wanderers in 1995. Paul Jones and Daniele Padelli were similar temporary solutions under Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez respectively, although both saw minutes. Jones played twice while Padelli started just once in the final game of the 2006/07 Premier League season, a 2-2 draw at home to Charlton Athletic ahead of the Champions League final against AC Milan.
Modern Loans and the Anelka Exception
Benitez also brought in Javier Mascherano on loan, but that was always with a view to making his transfer permanent 12 months later. More recent loans have had negligible impact despite often making more outings. Brendan Rodgers signed Nuri Sahin in 2012/13, both Aly Cissokho and Victor Moses the following year and Javier Manquillo the season afterwards. Sahin made just 12 appearances but at least scored three times in a week before returning to Borussia Dortmund in January. During the Premier League title challenge of 2013/14, left-back Cissoko was a regular during the autumn and winter but didn't start a game after February, while attacker Moses made 22 outings but saw his last Premier League start in December. Manquillo followed the same trend in 2014/15, initially nailing down the right-back role but starting only two FA Cup games after Christmas.
Even Jurgen Klopp couldn't conjure up an improvement. Steven Caulker was always a short-term answer to a centre-back injury crisis in January 2016 and played only twice, while Ozan Kabak had a similar role five years later but ended up joining the lengthy absentee list before his loan spell concluded. Arthur Melo's single-appearance, 13-minute Liverpool career after signing up for the 2022/23 campaign from Juventus is best forgotten.
Indeed, arguably the only real successful loan was that of Nicolas Anelka, who signed up in December 2001 for the remainder of the season. In 22 appearances, the Frenchman scored five goals and contributed three assists while proving popular with supporters and his team-mates. But after it emerged Anelka's brothers were attempting to seal a deal with Arsenal while the striker was still at Liverpool, then manager Houllier opted not to pursue a permanent transfer and signed El Hadji Diouf instead.
The portents, then, don't augur particularly well for Araujo. But the centre-back knows it won't take much for him to prove the value of his temporary stay.
