Beyond just arrivals, FC Barcelona also have other priorities in the summer transfer window. The club looks to retain their star players, and doing so will be a difficult challenge in its own right. Whether it be from a sporting or economic perspective, Barcelona need to improve the offers they give to their best players.
One of the stars whose future seems to be quite uncertain heading into this summer transfer window is that of Ronald Araujo. The Uruguayan defender, aged 25, is one of the captains at Barcelona but his latest season at the club has instilled a lot of doubt about his future.
That doubt was further boosted by reports claiming Bayern Munich to be heavily interested in the player. The Bavarian giants are looking to bolster their defensive zones, and reportedly believed that the Barcelona star would be the ideal candidate to help them in doing so.
However, as per the latest revelation by SPORT, it seems that the chances of Araujo joining Bayern are decreasing. This news comes in light of the update that Bayern Munich already seem to have an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.
Seen as a direct alternative to Ronald Araujo, the 28-year-old German defender enjoyed a successful season under Xabi Alonso in his latest campaign. However, it seems that he could be on his way to Bayern Munich for next season and that, in turn, helps Barcelona remove one possible suitor for Araujo from a rather long list.
Fortunately, Bayern were one of the strongest candidates in the race to sign Araujo. In the event that Tah does end up joining the Bundesliga giants, Barcelona may find more avenues to convince Ronald Araujo to stay and extend with the Catalan club.
Furthermore, there is a belief within Barcelona that Hansi Flick’s appointment could be pivotal. With the German coach bringing his new ideas and thoughts to the club, it may just be that particular competitive edge that allows Araujo to put his faith in Barcelona and continue there, while also expecting the club to make at least some level of economic effort to retain him.