Manchester City have supposedly shortlisted Sporting Lisbon and Uruguay wide man Maxi Araujo as a possible signing for 2025 to address their issues on the left-hand side.
The 24-year-old joined the Portuguese giants from Mexican side Toluca in an £11.3m deal over the summer and shone as a left wing-back for Ruben Amorim before the latter's move to Manchester United.
Araujo has registered two goals and one assist from his first 12 appearances in a Sporting shirt, netting one of those strikes in Sporting's 4-1 thrashing of Man City in the Champions League on November 5.
Also a 20-cap Uruguay international, Araujo has been directly involved in 11 goals for his nation (three of his own and eight assists) and netted twice at the 2024 Copa America en route to the semi-finals.
While Araujo predominantly plays as a forward for his national team, he has proved equally competent as a left wing-back in Amorim's 3-4-3 system and is now attracting glances from the Premier League.
Araujo 'on radar' of Man City chiefs
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According to Football Insider, who have labelled Araujo a 'titan', the Man City powers-that-be have been alerted to Araujo's displays and are now running the rule over his performances in Portugal.
The reigning Premier League champions have supposedly made signing a new left-sided defender one of their top priorities in the 2025 summer window, even though Josko Gvardiol has thrived in that role thus far.
Pep Guardiola is lacking natural alternatives to the Croatian, though, as Nathan Ake has struggled with a handful of injuries over the past year, and 21-year-old Josh Wilson-Esbrand has not played a single minute in the top flight this season.
The incredibly versatile Rico Lewis is an option on that side too, but if the ageing Kyle Walker leaves next year or when his contract runs out in 2026, Lewis could be his natural successor on the right-hand side.
Sporting have no need to sell Araujo in a hurry, though, as his contract does not expire until 2029, and the apparent consensus is that another year in Portugal would be the best move for his career.
Could Man United rival Man City for Araujo?
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As soon as Amorim's name was linked with the Man United job, rumours began to swirl surrounding which Sporting players the 39-year-old could try to bring with him to Old Trafford.
However, Araujo's name has not been mentioned in the same breadth as Viktor Gyokeres, Geovany Quenda or Ousmane Diomande, even though Man United's left-back situation has been problematic all season.
Neither Luke Shaw nor Tyrell Malacia have made an appearance this season due to severe injuries, which has forced Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot to share the left-back burden on their least favourite side.
Shaw and Malacia are now back in training as they push to return to first-team action, though, and the Red Devils also have the talented 17-year-old Harry Amass in their left-back ranks.
As a result, Man City should not run into any Amorim-sized obstacles in their pursuit of Araujo, although Man United could very well reassess their left-back situation if neither Shaw nor Malacia can consign their injury woes to the past.
Ben Knapton
