Julian Ward has seen enough: He wants £33m deal for 27-year-old

Julian Ward has seen enough: He wants £33m deal for 27-year-old Liverpool have been busy improving their defensive options over the last few transfer windows. The club have had to wave goodbye to players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson. And next summer it looks likely that Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez will be also departing. Reds’ recruiters have set about gathering top young players to replenish the backline. Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet are the landmark centre-back arrivals with Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe also coming in. And while those players are top prospects for the future there is a risk of a lack of experience being exposed. That’s why a deal for a senior defender makes sense. Liverpool want permanent Araujo deal Last summer the club completed a loan deal for Ronald Araujo - Barcelona’s 27-year-old centre-back cum right-back. The Uruguayan stopper has been an immediate hit with the Anfield faithful - leading to calls for him to be signed on a permanent basis. Liverpool have got an option to buy the defender for around £46m at the end of the season - a move that looks like a no-brainer considering his strong start. A report in Football Insider is claiming that decision-makers inside Anfield have already made up their minds - and a permanent deal will be pursued in 2027. Julian Ward wants HUGE discount on Araujo deal And now comes a report in Fichajes which claims the 2024/25 Premier League champions are seeking a significant reduction in the fee with Barca. “The Anfield club would like to close the deal for around 40 million euros, compared to the 55 million euro buy option,” the report reads. That price comes to around £33m at the current exchange rate - with Barcelona perhaps in a less than favourable negotiating position. The Blaugrana are desperate to offload Araujo - in order to generate some much-needed transfer income and to remove his mammoth salary from the books. A deal with Liverpool - even at a discounted rate - looks to be the optimum solution. Araujo isn’t in the usual age bracket for a Liverpool defensive signing - particularly in the last few seasons - but his experience will be invaluable going forward. It is definitely worth asking the question to Barcelona as to whether or not they would be willing to include a discount in the final deal.