Aston Villa duo Unai Emery and Monchi have met with members of the Barcelona board with the Premier League club’s representatives leaving the talks with the feeling that Ronald Araujo could be signed this summer.
That is according to the Barcelona outlet Sport, who report that Aston Villa had a specific interest in Araujo’s situation at the Catalan club due to rumours over the centre-back’s future.
The La Liga giants are still in a dire situation financially and will need to sell players to add new stars to their squad for the 2024/25 campaign. The Uruguayan is one name Barca are believed to be open to selling and they have placed an €80m price tag on the 25-year-old’s head.
The report states that Emery and Monchi left the talks with Barcelona with the feeling that Araujo could be lured to Villa Park but they know it won’t be easy as they will have to pay a large fee and convince the player to make the move.
Villa have Champions League football to offer next season, which will help, but there are also other big clubs monitoring the defender ahead of the summer transfer window.
Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo a target for two European giants
Should Aston Villa sign Araujo, it would be an incredible achievement as both Man United and Bayern Munich are interested in the 25-year-old.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reported back in January that United and Bayern have a strong interest in the defender and that the Uruguayan will be on their list of targets for the upcoming transfer window.
The journalist also reported a €80m transfer fee but interested clubs will likely be able to negotiate a lower price.
Erik ten Hag is desperate for a top centre-back at Old Trafford, but could Champions League football at Villa Park be the key to Araujo moving to Birmingham in what would be a huge coup for Emery?
