Aston Villa are reportedly contemplating making an approach for a Barcelona defender during the summer transfer window.
Unai Emery has just guided the West Midlands outfit to fourth place in the Premier League standings, securing qualification for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
However, it has not all been plain sailing for Villa this term, particularly during the closing stages of the season when their backline has looked far from secure.
On the back of conceding three goals in a six-goal thriller against Liverpool at the start of last week, Villa succumbed to a 5-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
While the lack of importance on the final match after a long season which has included 14 European fixtures should be taken into consideration, Emery will have been concerned with how easy Palace scored against his team at Selhurst Park.
© Reuters
Villa ready to set sights high
Although Emery will hope to have Tyrone Mings available to replace the outgoing Clement Lenglet, who will return to Barcelona, it appears Villa are interested in conducting further business with the Catalan giants.
According to Sport, both Emery and sporting director Monchi are admirers of Ronald Araujo.
The Uruguay international has spent a number of seasons as one of the most sought-after central defenders participating in Europe, helping Barcelona to a La Liga title last season.
In total, the 25-year-old has contributed eight goals and five assists from his 150 appearances in all competitions, but Araujo is currently not as valued at Camp Nou as he once was.
Barcelona are in a position where they must sell to boost their well-documented financial problems, as well as to cope with a reduced salary cap that will be in place for 2024-25.
While it has been suggested that over a dozen players could leave Barcelona in some capacity, they could benefit from a big-money sale of a player who could be replaced without the need to shell out a sizeable fee.
© Reuters
Villa ready to rival Man United, Bayern
Araujo is no stranger to being linked with other clubs, with Manchester United and Bayern Munich both known to be admirers of a player who can also feature at right-back.
With just two years remaining on Araujo's contract, it is plausible to expect a move from one or each of those clubs, yet Villa are seemingly growing confident that they can pull off a surprise transfer.
Officials from the respective clubs are said to have already held informal talks, with Villa leaving the discussions increasingly confident that they are a genuine candidate in the race for Araujo's signature.
That said, it is alleged that Villa have indicated they will not pay anywhere near the €80m (£68.4m) that has previously been suggested as a potential asking price.
Darren Plant
