Barcelona star, linked with a loan move away from the club, wants to impress manager Xavi in pre-season: Reports
Julian Araujo, who signed for Barcelona in the January transfer window of the 2022-23 season, is keen to impress Xavi in pre-season. This news comes amidst rumors of a loan move away from the club.
The player joined from the MLS club La Galaxy in January and spent the rest of the 2022-23 campaign training with the reserve team. The player, however, is not expected to be a key part of the first team in the 2023-24 season. Hence, he could look to pursue his immediate future elsewhere.
Araujo reportedly has two loan offers from Spain, one being from Granada, and another from the Netherlands. According to Toni Juanmarti, Araujo hasn't heard of any offers and is looking forward to the pre-season to impress Xavi as he looks to secure a first-team place in the 2023-24 team.
Barcelona used Jules Kounde as a makeshift right-back for the better part of the 2022-23 season. They are keen on signing a new player in the full-back position before the start of the 2023-24 season. Joao Cancelo and Pablo Maffeo (RCD Mallorca) are on the club's shortlist.
However, if Araujo manages to convince Xavi with his qualities, the Blaugrana might have a ready-made player in their ranks to fill up the slot next season.
Barcelona's move to bring Julian Araujo in involved a bit of drama. The Catalan club initially missed out on the transfer after sending the paperwork for the move by an 18-second delay.
However, his transfer was later approved. Araujo, however, was ineligible to play for the remainder of the 2022-23 season for the first team. Hence, he joined the club's reserves.
Mexican legend Rafael Marquez, who is the coach of Barca's reserves, told Relevo about the player's move to the Catalan club:
Julian Araujo is very young and the 21-year-old
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