The Reds are set to sign Uruguayan defender Ronald Araújo on a one-year loan with an option to buy, according to The Athletic.
Primarily a centre-back, Araújo would also provide cover at right-back for Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, whose knee injury is set to keep him sidelined for the opening months of the 2026-27 season.
Liverpool have been left short at the back, with Giovanni Leoni still recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last September and Joe Gomez set to miss the start of the campaign through a muscle injury picked up in pre-season.
Those absences come on top of Ibrahima Konaté’s departure, who left Anfield as a free agent to join Real Madrid at the end of his contract.
Araújo, 27, was part of Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay squad at this summer’s World Cup but didn’t feature as his country exited at the group stage.
Liverpool’s defensive options have been stretched further by the situation around Jeremy Jacquet, who joined Andoni Iraola’s squad this summer after a deal agreed with Rennes six months earlier.
The 21-year-old hasn’t played since February because of a serious shoulder injury and has missed pre-season entirely with a separate, minor issue.
With captain Virgil van Dijk unavailable following his World Cup commitments, Iraola has had to lean on teenage centre-backs Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Araújo has made 213 first-team appearances for Barcelona since joining from Uruguayan club Boston River in January 2019, winning three La Liga titles.
Photo: REUTERS/Pankra Nieto
