Liverpool have agreed to sign Ronald Araújo on a season-long loan from Barcelona after Andoni Iraola was faced with a lack of defensive options for the start of the new season.
Defensive crisis
Concerns over Jérémy Jacquet – the France Under-21 defender who arrived last season for more than £50m – and injuries to Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni have left Liverpool short at the back after the departure of Ibrahima Konaté on a free transfer to Real Madrid.
Araújo, who was part of the Barça side that won La Liga last season, will add much-needed cover in the short term. The Uruguay defender is expected to complete his medical on Sunday.
Deal details
The deal for the 27-year-old is believed to contain an option to buy at the end of the season. Araújo has made more than 200 appearances for Barcelona, but only made 11 league starts last season.
Liverpool have shown interest in Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, but were put off by the £60m valuation of the England defender. Arsenal have had an initial approach for Konsa rejected.
Iraola's comments
Jacquet, who signed from Rennes in February, has not made a competitive appearance after picking up a serious shoulder injury last season and did not feature during Liverpool's three-match tour of the United States. Iraola said last week that he has been feeling “some discomfort, so we don't want to rush him”.
The Liverpool manager added: “He comes from a lot of months without playing. And obviously I would like to try with him with Virgil [van Dijk] when he recovers, because with the injury of Joe we've been without senior centre-backs. But we have to be careful with Jeremy.”
Other transfer news
Liverpool have held talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a move for Bradley Barcola, although the European champions value him at around £145m. PSG are expected to make a move for Spain's World Cup final hero Ferran Torres, who has one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou.
