Manchester United are reportedly in pole position to sign Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo. Araujo, 22, is said to have rejected Barcelona’s opening contract offer and both parties are yet to agree terms on a new deal.
The 22-year-old joined Barcelona in 2018 from Uruguayan outfit Boston River and has gone on to become a regular starter for the Catalan giants.
Spanish outlet Marca say United are leading the race to sign the defender, while any deal would see Araujo compete for a starting berth with current first-choice defensive pairing Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane.
United's other options in the centre of defence are Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and the recently returned Phil Jones.
The Red Devils didn’t sign a single player in the January transfer market, despite being linked with several big-name stars.
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The defender has recently been away on international duty with Uruguay, who are competing for a place at the World Cup in Qatar at the back end of this year.
Araujo played the full 90 minutes in both of Uruguay’s recent World Cup qualifying wins over Paraguay and Venezuela.
The results leave Uruguay in the driving seat for the final automatic qualifying place ahead of the likes of Peru, Chile, and Colombia.
Although a centre-back by trade, Araujo has proved he is also capable of occupying the right-back position.
Araujo regularly features for Uruguay at right-back, while veteran Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez play in central defence.