Strengthening central defence has been a priority for Chelsea in this transfer window.
Enzo Maresca is currently without Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile because of injury, prompting the Blues to act.
On Wednesday, Chelsea decided to recall Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace.
Before that, they were being linked with Chalobah’s former Palace teammate Marc Guehi and Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo.
Ronald Araujo set to stay at Barcelona
While Chelsea were thought to be interested in Araujo, they are now very unlikely to sign him and not just because Chalobah has returned to the club.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Araujo has agreed to sign a contract extension, putting an end to speculation linking him to Chelsea and Juventus.
Discussing the 25-year-old on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Ronald Araujo stays, Ronald Araujo doesn’t go to Juventus, but Ronald Araujo also extends the contract at Barcelona.
“Agreement verbally done, agreement in principle, because now after the talks between the player and Deco, it’s going to be time to meet with the agents to prepare the contract, discuss all the details, but in terms of agreement in principle, Araujo said yes and he’s ready to extend his contract at Barcelona.”
At one point, it was thought that Barcelona would have considered selling Araujo for £59m.
Hansi Flick thinks Ronald Araujo is ‘excellent’
One man who will be delighted with Araujo’s decision to stay at the Spotify Camp Nou is his boss Hansi Flick. The Barcelona manager has described the Uruguayan as an “excellent option” for his side.
Speaking before Barcelona’s 5-2 win against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup last weekend, Flick told reporters (via Reuters): “Ronald is back stronger than ever. He’s an excellent option for us, very professional, and ready to play. I don’t pay attention to the rumours. I’m just happy to have him on my side.”
With Chalobah back at Stamford Bridge, it will be interesting to see what Chelsea do between now and the end of the transfer window.
They may feel that there is no longer an urgent need to sign another centre-half this month.
One thing that is clear, though, is Araujo will not be joining Maresca’s side. Guehi re-signing for Chelsea also looks highly unlikely as things stand.
Palace will be even more reluctant to sell the England international after losing Chalobah. It means Chelsea will probably have to wait until the summer if they still want to sign Guehi, who would have entered the final year of his contract by then.
