4 - Ronald Araújo

[Windhook]

Stegen will surely get 3rd spot behind Busquets and Alba, but 1 slot will be available for real voting, and good chance it might goes to one of the younger players.

Somehow I cannot imagine Alba in a captain role when the day comes, but it's possible due to his loyalty to the club in the past 10 years.

One thing is certain - Adama Traore will not be the captain, he'll rip the armband with those arms.

 

[Joan]

Bad first pass.
Low level of intelligence.
Bad positioning.

We must sell it if we are offered more than 60 million.

While true about his flaws, tough one. With Pique apparently gone in the summer, we need two starting cbs in case we sell Araujo.

 

[JamDav1982]

Club would sell him in a heart beat for 60m as could then spin it on Kounde and have profit on the books.

No one is offering that for current Araujo.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Bad first pass.
Low level of intelligence.
Bad positioning.

We must sell it if we are offered more than 60 million.

Those are the negatives. Luckily all his strengths are something we miss though.

Strong, tough to beat 1vs1, fast, good in headers and warrior mentality.

 

[Birdy]

Bad first pass.
Low level of intelligence.
Bad positioning.

We must sell it if we are offered more than 60 million.

1st pass not bad, just not as good as Garcia's for instance
Positioning better than Pique's who drags the defense back and messes up the offside trap
Low level of intelligence? If you don't qualify that's just fluffy crap here.

Then, let's talk about him being top 5 CBs in Europe in:
- Winning Aerial Duels
- Winning ground duels
- Not getting dribbled past
- Being fast and Covering ground when retreating or out wide

He currently slots in any CB duo of all top teams in Europe, bar Liverpool and possibly City, and that's because they have similar profiles in VVD and Dias
Other than that, he plays any day of the week at:
Bayern next to Upamecano,
Chelsea next to Thiago and Rudiger,
Utd next to Varane,
Spurs next to some mediocre CB they have,
PSG next to Marquinos,
Juve next to De Ligt,
Inter next to Skriniar and De Vrij,
and all other teams below the elite

Ridiculous take really

 

[malvolio]

Birdy going completely overboard yet again.

 

[te amo barca]

You'd have to be insane to consider Araujo a weak link of this defense. His ball-playing skills are trash but he can actually defend

 

[Joan]

You'd have to be insane to consider Araujo a weak link of this defense. His ball-playing skills are trash but he can actually defend

I don't think passing is his major weakness. Surely not a strong suit but it rarely puts him in inescapable positions. Positioning on the other hand is a real flaw. If he manages to improve on that, he'll be among the best cbs.

 

[Zidane82]

You'd have to be insane to consider Araujo a weak link of this defense. His ball-playing skills are trash but he can actually defend

He did not defend the other night for their first goal .

He ran back , did not put in a tackle or even slide in to try to block the shot

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Araujo has looked really bad in spots. He has also looked to show some top level skill. He needs maturity and experience. He seems to love the club so I'm down to have Xavi mold him into an elite defender for sure.

 

[Porque]

I'm in a mix with Kounde. Half of me says he would look excellent in our setup

The other says that he is the right profile (the balance between a Araujo and a Eric Garcia basically) but that we should strive to find a better version of him.

I personally wouldn't sell Araujo for 60m to then buy Kounde for more (which is what Sevilla are asking). He is great on his day but I find him a bit too passive and hesitent in anticipating.

I would hope we would invest in a leader of the defence which without Araujo we don't have, and haven't really had since Mascherano left.

 

[iniestaGOAT]

I'm in a mix with Kounde. Half of me says he would look excellent in our setup

The other says that he is the right profile (the balance between a Araujo and a Eric Garcia basically) but that we should strive to find a better version of him.

I personally wouldn't sell Araujo for 60m to then buy Kounde for more (which is what Sevilla are asking). He is great on his day but I find him a bit too passive and hesitent in anticipating.

I would hope we would invest in a leader of the defence which without Araujo we don't have, and haven't really had since Mascherano left.

Selling Araujo for 60 and buying kounde for 70 is a no brainer but no teams gonna offer 60m for him.30 at best.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Selling Araujo for 60 and buying kounde for 70 is a no brainer but no teams gonna offer 60m for him.30 at best.

PL teams are suckers. Everton paid for Mina over 30m and Gomes, Semedo went for good money too etc. Araujo is twice the player.

We should milk money for every mediocre player and send them to PL. They will pay. Too much money problem. They don't know how to spend it but they must use it.

 

[Messi983]

Selling Araujo to buy Kounde doesn't really solve our problems. Who do we pair Kounde with? Play Pique until he's 40? Garcia and Kounde are too short to play together imo and I still have doubts if Eric will ever be anything more than a squad player/occasional starter.

I'm a big fan of Kounde and think he would fit well with Araujo but will be too expensive so we should look for cheaper alternatives. Clearly not as proven but I like the little I saw from Jurrien Timber. Piero Hincapie is another CB with great future imo, also left-footed which we could use with Lenglet and Umtiti both hopefully leaving.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

Selling Araujo to buy Kounde doesn't really solve our problems. Who do we pair Kounde with? Play Pique until he's 40? Garcia and Kounde are too short to play together imo and I still have doubts if Eric will ever be anything more than a squad player/occasional starter.

I'm a big fan of Kounde and think he would fit well with Araujo but will be too expensive so we should look for cheaper alternatives. Clearly not as proven but I like the little I saw from Jurrien Timber. Piero Hincapie is another CB with great future imo, also left-footed which we could use with Lenglet and Umtiti both hopefully leaving.

Garcia should be what Lenglet was bought for. A reliable 3rd CB. I doubt Pique will end his career that way, that's why I don't think he'll retire in summer. His body seems fit and he plays a lot, so not much reason for him to retire from that perspective either.

I really like the early rumours of Xavi wanting to get rid of Mingueza, Lenglet and Umtiti. Mingueza had an impressive run last season, but I doubt he is what Barca needs. Lenglet had a good phase under Valverde, but didn't develop as hoped and is too expensive for the role he takes now. I believe there will be a market for him, but Xavi will have to convince him that he is not part in his plans for him to move on. No need to even talk over Umtiti.

Don't know if the club will spend big in summer on a CB. There are some interesting options on the market as free agents and that's maybe what they are trying to do. Getting a decent temporary solution to partner with Araujo before they spend big on a CB in 2023 or 2024. Still think they will chase Haaland this summer and if so they'll need the money for him.

I like Kounde, but Sevilla is asking for too much. I mean, they've paid 25M for him themselves so I get why they are asking for 70M - 75M.