Liverpool's Defensive Reinforcements: Targeting Ronald Araujo

Andoni Iraola has wasted little time confronting Liverpool’s most obvious problem. With Ibrahima Konaté gone and the treatment room suddenly full, the new manager has moved decisively for defensive reinforcements, targeting Ronald Araujo to stabilise a back line stripped to its bare bones.

Right now, Virgil van Dijk is the last senior centre-back standing.

Joe Gomez has joined the list of absentees after pulling up with a muscle issue, a setback Iraola had feared the moment the defender signalled trouble.

“Joe has a muscle injury. I think it was quite clear since he complained straight away, so it will depend how he evolves, but he will be some weeks off,” Iraola said. “It's a muscle injury and [with] muscle injuries it is difficult to say one day, but normally I always put myself as one month.

“If it goes very good the injury is a little bit less, if [not] it goes a little more. It's not massive, it's a normal muscle injury, [but] I think it's going to be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far [away]. It shouldn't be a lot more.”

That timeline leaves Liverpool walking a tightrope into the opening weeks of the campaign. Jeremy Jacquet, who had impressed in the early stages of pre-season, is also a doubt as he battles discomfort after a long spell out of action.

“With Jeremy we still don't know if it's worth it or not to put him in against Leeds. He did the first part of the pre-season, let's say, very well. Now he's feeling some discomfort, so we don't want to rush him.

“He comes from a lot of months without playing. And obviously I would like to try with him with Virgil [van Dijk] when he recovers, because with the injury of Joe we've been without senior centre-backs. But we have to be careful with Jeremy, yes.”

That caution has pushed Liverpool towards Araujo, a defender who brings more than just height and tackles. In January 2026 he was handed the captain’s armband at Barcelona after the departure of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, a clear marker of his standing inside one of football’s most demanding dressing rooms. More than 200 appearances for the Catalan club have hardened him at the highest level.

Liverpool are not just signing a centre-back. They are bringing in a leader for a dressing room entering a new era.

If the deal is completed as planned, Araujo will become the second arrival of the Iraola reign. Spanish forward Victor Munoz has already come through the door from Osasuna for £34.5 million, a statement attacking addition.

Now Iraola wants his defence to match that intent. With Van Dijk carrying the burden and the season fast approaching, Liverpool’s new manager is betting that Araujo can walk straight into the storm and own it.