Liverpool surely won’t sign Ronald Araujo permanently in 2027 with alternate centre-back plan underway
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Liverpool look all set in defence for the 2026/27 season after agreeing a deal to sign Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.Araujo can cover both centre-back and right-back for the Reds, and though there are some question marks over him, his arrival should alleviate fears of a defensive crisis at Anfield.Nevertheless, Liverpool still need to do some planning at centre-back, with both Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk out of contract in 2027. Araujo can be signed for £47m, but it feels unlikely that the Reds will trigger the buyout agreement for the Uruguayan, and will instead move to re-sign Jarell Quansah next year.
How do you feel about Liverpool signing Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo on loan? Nobody saw this coming! 🫨 Photo Credit: Getty Images/Pedro Salado Liverpool could sign Quansah, not Araujo in 2027Regardless of whether Van Dijk stays beyond the end of the new season, Liverpool will need to bring in another centre-back in 2027.Gomez must be replaced, and if Van Dijk goes as well, the Reds will be left with only Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, as well as youngsters like Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye coming through.Araujo could, of course, convince Liverpool that he should be signed permanently, but it feels much more likely that his stop-gap signing will remain exactly that.The Reds could have gone out and signed a new centre-back this summer, knowing it would give them less work to do next year, but Araujo coming on loan suggests they do have a target in mind for 2027, who was not available this year.READ MORE: Every player Liverpool have signed on loan since 2010 as Ronald Araujo looks to end dismal recordThough he is perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, Quansah is the most obvious candidate for that.As part of their agreement with Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool can sign the England international for €65m, with a clause coming into effect in the summer of 2027.
Clearly, Quansah will need to justify that in the coming season, but the Reds now have the ability to wait and see, while keeping their options very much open.Van Dijk’s future is still the biggest factorPart of the reasoning behind Liverpool making a loan signing, rather than a permanent one, this summer, is surely also largely to do with Van Dijk.It is not yet known whether the Dutchman will continue at Anfield into 2027/28, and if he does not, Liverpool have got some huge moves to make.Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty ImagesIf he does, then bringing in another experienced player like Araujo permanently could have led to the Reds stockpiling centre-backs.Instead, the best option is to plug the gap, while maintaining the ability to pivot should Van Dijk decide to stay.If that happens, and Liverpool fans will hope it does, the Reds would go into 27/28 with Jacquet, Leoni, and Van Dijk. Another signing would be needed, and the agreement with Leverkusen over Quansah make that a fairly easy deal for the Reds to do in that scenario.So, while it may look like a panic buy or an unplanned addition in some respects, Araujo’s arrival gives Liverpool the chance to follow through on a plan they set in motion in 2025, while remaining flexible to changes in the meantime.There are moving parts, as ever in football, but as things stand, we would not be surprised to see Araujo head back to Barca, Van Dijk renew his contract and Quansah come back next year.