Much of the last few months have involved links between Barcelona and Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni, yet in Italy there is now talk that one of the Blaugrana defenders is of interest to the Nerazzurri. After several seasons of speculation over his future, captain Ronald Araujo is likely to be a talking point after another year without a starting spot.
The latest is that talks for Bastoni have been frozen by Barcelona manager Hansi Flick. Sporting Director Deco has agreed terms with the Italy international, and has a rough price tag in terms of negotiations with Inter, yet Flick supposedly has doubts about his fit in his system.
Advertisement
Inter monitoring Ronald Araujo this summer
As per CdS (via Sport), Inter are also monitoring Araujo’s situation as one of their primary options for a summer move to strengthen their defence. It is not clear whether Inter would consider including him in a deal for Bastoni should Flick give the green light. On the other hand, another Barcelona target Luka Vuskovic is also on their agenda.
Araujo reluctant to leave Barcelona
That said, Araujo has thus far shown no desire to leave the club. Flick is also set to meet with Araujo to discuss his future, the Uruguayan has said that he is happy at Camp Nou, and is still under contract until 2030. Yet Deco will no doubt be conscious of the fact that Araujo is one of the higher earners at the club, and has barely featured in the second half of the season even after recovering from his mental health break.
The 27-year-old has struggled to earn Flick’s trust, and while he has appeared 37 times this year, scoring four goals, he only has 1,570 minutes under his belt. Just 15 of those appearances were starts, and he was clearly behind Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin in the pecking order.
Read the full article here