Barcelona star loves what he's seeing at Liverpool, wants to follow suit

One Barcelona star likes what's happening at Liverpool right now. It's enough to make him want to follow suit.

Liverpool signed Ronald Araujo in the summer, bringing him in on loan from Barcelona. There’s an option to buy in there, for around £50m.

Will that option be triggered? It’s difficult to say. Back in the summer, it looked highly unlikely that Liverpool would ever trigger and expensive clause for a player essentially signed on a whim.

But Araujo’s efforts have been fantastic and he absolutely brings something to this squad that no one else does. He’s a rugged defender, one who thrives on physicality and wants to battle against other players. The Reds don’t really have other players like that, outside of Virgil van Dijk anyway.

So we think there’s actually a good chance that Araujo signs permanently. And that’s a fantastic turnaround for a player who Barcelona wanted rid of in the summer - this loan deal has completely rejuvenated his reputation.

And now others are taking notice.

Alejandro Balde follows suit

Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde reportedly likes the look of what Araujo has done at Liverpool. That’s according to Sport, who claim the left-back is now open to moving on from Catalonia.

Balde had the chance to do that in the summer, with plenty of clubs interested in his services. He rejected them, however, as he felt he could break back in with Barca. That’s not proven to be the case, though.

And so Balde apparently takes inspiration from Araujo in how positive a move away could be. He’s opened the door to other clubs and now his agent, Jorge Mendes, is in discussions about a transfer.

Funnily enough, one of those clubs is Liverpool. Balde could actually do exactly what Araujo has done, moving to Merseyside and rejuvenating his reputation there. There’s a very real chance it happens.

Liverpool do need a left-back, either in January or next summer, as Kostas Tsimikas’s contract is due to expire. They’re also just far from certain on what their best option there actually is and competition for Milos Kerkez is only a positive thing.

Keep an eye on this one, then.