Chelsea offered chance to sign Ronald Araujo, but want to sign another Barcelona defender instead as details emerge: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Eric Garcia from Barcelona. The Blues were offered the chance to sign Ronald Araujo in January, but are not looking to sign the Uruguayan.

According to Graeme Bailey on TBR Football, Araujo is yet to be convinced about a move away from Barcelona, but the defender is being offered to clubs by the Catalan side. Chelsea were among the clubs, but they are interested in bringing in Garcia instead.

The Blues were interested in Fermin Lopez in the summer, but were unable to convince the midfielder to make the switch to Stamford Bridge. The report adds that they were also pushing to sign Marc Casado, but did not get the deal over the line.

Bailey said:

“We know Chelsea tried to sign Fermin, but now sources confirm they would happily have taken Casado and Garcia too. Interest in Garcia remains, and Barcelona are now working hard on tying him down as his contract expires at the end of the season. I am told Garcia is someone Chelsea would want in January, but the chances are he will have signed a new deal."

“They have been offered Araujo, and in theory, they do have an interest, but they are yet to be convinced he wants to leave Barcelona, so I do not believe they are pushing too hard on that. Should Araujo make it clear he would move, then things could very well change, but as it stands, he really isn’t keen on leaving.”

Enzo Maresca is reportedly interested in signing a defender with Levi Colwill out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery following an ACL injury. Araujo was linked with a move to Juventus in January 2025, while Bayern Munich were also said to be keeping tabs.

Chelsea manager wanted a defender in the summer after Colwill's injury

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed ahead of the season that he wanted to sign a defender. The manager claimed that only Levi Colwill could play well from the middle of his backline and said (via BBC):

"The club know exactly what I think. I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think. When we build, we build with Levi in the middle. Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle]. Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin."

However, Chelsea did not sign a defender for the manager, forcing him to use Reece James and Jorrel Hato as center-backs in the second half against Liverpool. Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong came off injury, while Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana were out, and Trevoh Chalobah was suspended.