Feyenoord interested in Barca's Julian Araujo

Barça's sporting management are trying to lighten the squad with just a week to go before the team kicks off the 2023-24 pre-season. One of the players who may not turn up at the Ciutat Esportiva is Julian Araujo. The club is looking for a way out for the Mexican player and in the last few days Feyenoord have shown interest.

The current Eredivisie champions urgently need a right-back and their technical team has drawn up a list of three candidates to fill the vacancy: Joshua Brenet, from Twente, Hugo Siquet, from Standard Liege, and Barca's Julián Araujo. The first two have had great seasons and the list of teams looking to sign them is extensive. It is a market operation that would require a considerable financial outlay. This is not the case for Julian Araujo who, since his arrival in Barcelona in the winter transfer window, has not been able to make his debut with the Barça first team and has only maintained a competitive rhythm with the call-ups from the Mexican national team.

Araujo has a great deal of support in the Mexican national team. Santiago Gimenez is Feyenoord's striker and has been one of the mainstays of the Dutch side this season. In the Netherlands they insist that his reports on Araujo have been excellent.

Nor would it be surprising that if Julian Araujo finally joins Feyenoord, he would not coincide with Santiago Gimenez as the Mexican is on the radar of several Premier League clubs, the Portuguese giants and even Sevilla and Atletico Madrid have asked for the striker's price tag.

Xavi needs to free up players from the first team squad. Despite the fact that the coach is in favour of looking for a proven right-back, Barça will undoubtedly start with several players in that position. In addition to Kounde, the full-back Xavi has picked in high-level games, or Sergi Roberto, it should be noted that Sergino Dest is back after his loan spell at Milan; as well as Ronald Araujo and Balde being used there as other resources.

And to this panorama we should add the contact with Ivan Fresneda. At the moment, the Valladolid player is Xavi's main objective to reinforce the full-back. Contacts are very advanced and the only thing missing for the club to balance the numbers to take on transfer and his subsequent registration.

The Barça coach has praised the attitude of Araujo in all his public interventions, but the truth is that the player needs minutes after leaving MLS and Barça does not seem the ideal team to get this at.

This week Feyenoord are expected to take a definitive decision and seal their pick for right back.