Ronald Araujo injury pushes two Barcelona players towards summer exits

Barcelona were hit with a rough blow after medical examinations on Monday revealed that defender Ronald Araujo’s injury suffered on Uruguay duty is more serious than first thought. He will now undergo surgery in Finland in the coming days.

Araujo is expected to be out for at least four months, but realistically is unlikely to play before December again. It will impact Barcelona’s plans, as he had been a potential sale this summer. With no sign of negotiations improving over a new deal, he would have been available.

Barcelona are accelerating for Nico Williams, and believe they can complete his signing in the month of July. The winger is willing to lower his salary to make the move happen. It's likely that there will be movements in the next few hours. @sport

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 15, 2024

Yet the Blaugrana will still have to look for income from signings, and with seven central defenders on their books, Relevo say that Araujo’s injury makes other departures more likely. While Clement Lenglet was expected to depart anyway, it does mean Eric Garcia and Mikayil Faye are closer to leaving the club, as they try to cash in on assets. Garcia is wanted by Girona, where he spent last season on loan, and Faye will likely leave if Barcelona cannot come up with a convincing plan to give him first-team minutes.

In recent months it was reported that Barcelona would be willing to deal Garcia for somewhere between €15-20m, while they were holding out for at least the lower end of that scale for Faye, but talks with Porto have stalled over it. Certainly neither seemed likely to have regular minutes as it were, although if they do stick around, then Araujo would not be back until halfway through the season nearly.

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