Chelsea are the UEFA Champions League defending champions, and they have a lot of defenders in their squad who will be out of contract in the summer. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, along with Danish international Andreas Christensen, and their best defender, Antonio Rudiger, are in their last phase of the contract, and there are chances that one or two might leave on a free transfer. Antonio Rudiger has been their best defender and looking at the current financial situation of the club, there might be chances that the German international could be on the move to any other top European club. However, the Blues are also looking for alternatives in case any of these players leave their squad in the summer, and one of them is Barcelona’s youngster, Ronald Araujo. The Uruguayan has grown as the season has continued and has been one of the main centre-backs since Xavi’s arrival.
Ronald Araujo played five games out of six in Barcelona’s disappointing UEFA Champions League 2021/22 campaign. He started in four matches and made one appearance from the bench. The defender is strong in the air and attempted three shots from set-pieces. He recently scored a goal in Barcelona’s 4-0 triumph over Real Madrid in the El Classico.
The above viz shows all the duels that have been in favor of the defender. Araujo has featured as a centre-back as well as a full-back in one of the games. He contested 31 ground-level defensive duels, six loose balls (50/50 duels), and 15 aerial duels. Araujo has managed to win 23 defensive duels, along with four loose ball duels and ten aerial duels. The centre-back contested four aerial duels inside the opposition’s penalty box and won 50% of them. Other than this, he has contested most of the duels towards the right side.
The 22-year-old defender has also made a few interceptions and has helped to break the momentum of the opposition. The above viz shows all the 18 interceptions made by the player. Of these 18 interceptions, 16 have been made when others were on the ball. Most of the interceptions have been made inside his team’s penalty box. Other than this, he has made 31 recoveries, seven of them inside the opposition’s half.
Ronald Araujo has shown a lot of improvement since the appointment of the new manager. Chelsea already have a lot of young defenders in their ranks, along with some experienced ones. They will look to add the Uruguayan international in case their star defender leaves the club. With Cesar Azpilicueta also on the radar of Barcelona, the Blues can save money by exchanging the player.
