Report: Chelsea on alert as star’s €65m clause becomes active in July | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly eager to seal a transfer deal for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo as they look to strengthen their defence this summer.

The Uruguay international has been a key player for Barca, and it makes sense that some big names are now being linked with him.

The latest on Araujo’s future from Spanish outlet Fichajes is that Chelsea are joined by Bayern Munich and Juventus in targeting him in a deal worth around €65m.

This follows another recent report from Fichajes claiming that Liverpool were stepping up their interest in signing Araujo.

Ronald Araujo’s release clause attracts interest

The latest on Araujo’s situation seems to be that he’ll have a €65m release clause in July, which has alerted Chelsea, Bayern and Juve.

The Blues could do with strengthening in defence, and although they’ve been strongly linked with Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen by AS, one imagines they could have alternatives in mind too.

Ronald Araujo in a Barcelona press conference (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Araujo is one of the top defenders in Europe on his day, so CFC fans would surely welcome someone like him coming in at Stamford Bridge this summer.

€65m isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s also a pretty reasonable price to pay for someone of Araujo’s calibre, so it’s undoubtedly worth at least considering.

Chelsea to make changes in defence?

Speaking to CaughtOffside about the latest Chelsea news in terms of their defence this summer, writer ‘SuperFrank’ told us: “It looks certain the Blues will be adding at least one expensive addition to their back line in the summer, with the likes of Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah likely to leave to enable that.”

Disasi is currently on loan at Aston Villa after a disappointing spell with Chelsea, while Chalobah went out on loan to Crystal Palace last summer before being surprisingly recalled in January.

Araujo or Huijsen seem ideal as upgrades on those players as Enzo Maresca looks to improve that somewhat unconvincing Chelsea back line ahead of next season.