Manchester City plotting €30 million offer for 22-year-old Barcelona star: Reports

Manchester City could be plotting a €30 million offer for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, as claimed by reliable journalist Ekrem Konur.

Pep Guardiola is believed to be keen to bolster his defense and could look to raid his former club for arguably their best centre-back.

Ekrem Konur claims Araujo is the primary defensive target for Manchester City in the summer.

Araujo has been a constant for Barcelona at the heart of their defence this season, barring his injury oriented absences.

The 22-year-old has been the most consistent performer in the backline for the Catalan giants since he made his breakthrough into the first team from Barcelona B. He has made 25 appearances for the Catalans, scoring three goals.

Both Ronald Koeman and Xavi Hernandez rate the defender highly and it has been evident from their comments on the youngster in the past.

Koeman said in February last year, as quoted by the Mirror:

"Araujo has had a very good season. He is a young defender, he has learnt a lot, he has shown his quality, his physique."

While discussing Araujo last November, Xavi said as quoted by the Mirror:

"I’m very happy to have Ronald on the team. He has such a great personality. We welcome him with open arms because it’s spectacular to see him train, he’s so positive, he has an excellent character and that’s fundamental to us."

With his contract at Camp Nou set to expire in the summer of 2023, the defender has been the subject of interest from a host of clubs in recent times.

Manchester City are not his only admirers in the Premier League with both Liverpool and Manchester United also believed to be monitoring his progress.

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Can Barcelona keep the Manchester City target at Nou Camp?

Barcelona are struggling to tie Araujo down with a new deal. If the situation does not change soon, they will find it hard to turn down an offer worth €30 million for the defender.

Aged just 22 now, the the player has his best days well ahead of him and looks to have everything in his locker to become a complete defender in the future.

He is tall and strong as well as being very much committed and also boasts the technical qualities of a modern-day ball playing defender.

Gerard Pique, now 35, is clearly past his prime and Araujo seems to be the perfect candidate to replace him in the long run.

We have to wait and see whether Barcelona can manage to keep the talented stopper at the club amid interest from Manchester City.