Juventus Regrouping After Major Setback in Araujo Chase | OneFootball

Juventus were preparing for the final push in their pursuit of Ronald Araujo, but Barcelona managed to make the defender change his mind about leaving through their director Deco and offered him an improved proposal to renew his contract, Mundo Deportivo reports.

The Blaugrana, who weren’t keen on letting him go in the first place, believe the defender will accept their bid. That would quash the chatter about his exit in January or next summer. He was previously angling for a move to Turin.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Juventus have yet to be formally informed about the U-turn by Araujo. His agent has been in Turin since he was one of the intermediaries for the Alberto Costa deal. He’ll be in Barcelona to talk to the Spanish giants on Thursday.

The Old Lady will likely be forced to pivot. Fikayo Tomori remains on their radar. However, he’ll need to be convinced to leave. Plus, Milan just lost Malick Thiaw for a while due to a thigh strain. Per Alfredo Pedullà, Cristiano Giuntoli will keep chasing David Hancko until the end of the January window. Kevin Danso has gained steam. It might not be too challenging to reach an agreement with Lens.

Our Take on Juventus and Araujo

Perhaps it was a genuine change of heart, or they might have been on the wrong end of a leverage play concerning his Barcelona contract. Still, it was hard to believe they would have shelled out €50M to acquire him as rumored since they have been penny-pinching so far in January. Tomori has become an increasingly complex target, and he hasn’t really bounced back on the pitch.