The Red Devils are reportedly prepared to double the wages of Barcelona center-back Ronald Araujo in a bid to convince the 25-year-old to swap Catalonia for Manchester, Soccernet.football understands.
Manchester United are looking to reinforce their center-back position following Raphael Varane’s departure and are considering a move for the Uruguayan who has been frequently linked with a move away from Barcelona.
Bayern Munich are long-time admirers of Araujo, who has previously been valued around €100m (£86m), but the Bundesliga giants have not made any formal attempts to acquire the Uruguayan.
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Manchester United, currently seeking to bolster their center-back options, are reportedly ‘putting a lot of pressure’ on Araujo, according to Spanish publication SPORT.
The 13-time Premier League champions are allegedly willing to double Araujo’s current salary, despite Barcelona’s desire to retain him and offer a new, improved long-term contract.
Barcelona’s offer is reportedly less than what United have on the table and they are likely to miss their self-imposed deadline of tying the defender to a new deal by June 30.
Bayern Munich have previously approached Araujo to persuade him to join, but he has stayed loyal to Barcelona and remains a key player in their squad. It remains uncertain whether Matthijs de Ligt’s potential departure from the Allianz Arena will cause a change of heart.
Araujo has two years left on his contract in Catalonia and the Spanish giants may be forced to part with the defender due to their ongoing financial struggles.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils will be willing to match Barcelona’s handsome valuation of the player, considering the fact that the new-look United hierarchy are looking to move away from rash spending in the transfer market.
