Man Utd have an important game coming up this week as the Red Devils prepare to take on Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals second leg.
With a 3-0 advantage from the first leg, Ruben Amorim’s side will have confidence of progressing to the finals where they will face one of Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt.
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Although there is something left to play for this season, Amorim might have already started thinking about the future and how he can use the upcoming summer to shape the future of the club. The Portuguese tactician needs to get his recruitment spot on as he looks to rebuild a club that seems to be in a free fall, especially in the Premier League.
Among the many signings they could make, now, as per Spanish source, Fichajes, Man Utd are ready to bid around £68million (80 million euros) to sign talented Barcelona defender, Ronald Araujo.
The Uruguayan has been at the Catalan club for quite some time now and often receives plaudits for his incredible one on one defending.
A season of adaptation:
Araujo has had a difficult season at Barcelona this time around while the club has been flying high. The 26-year-old center-back started the season injured after an injury that he suffered at the Copa America back in the summer last year and it took him until the end of the year to make a return to the pitch.
In his absence, Hansi Flick unearthed an excellent partnership in central defense between Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez and the Spanish duo were key exponents of the German coach’s high-line tactical system. Eric Garcia had established himself as a reliable backup and when Araujo returned, he struggled to adapt to the new system.
Araujo has always been an excellent one-on-one defender and his recovery pace often helped him track back efficiently but in Flick’s system, the Barcelona captain struggled to understand and play the offside trap as well as some of his teammates and this has stopped him from becoming a regular starter this season.
That said, Flick has still called up Araujo on a number of occasions and with every passing game, the 26-year-old is also showing a better understanding of playing in this niche system that the German coach has developed. Thus, Barcelona might not be keen on parting ways with him come the summer.
Would Araujo fit in at Man Utd?
This part of the equation is a no-brainer. If Man Utd manage to lift the Europa League and get Champions League football for the next season, they should go all out to try and sign Araujo. He is a physical specimen and seems to be born to play in the Premier League and can be the Red Devils’ own version of Virgil van Dijk.
Playing in the back three system that Ruben Amorim uses, Araujo will fit in like a glove at Old Trafford and improve the stability in the backline. Imagine having a backline consisting of both Matthijs de Ligt and Araujo – there aren’t many attacks who can get past them efficiently.
The only concern with spending this kind of money on Araujo would be his injury record. The Uruguayan has struggled to play an entire campaign without getting injured and this could be the only sticking point in an otherwise, no-brainer of a signing. Let’s wait and see how this situation plays out.
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