Serie A giants cool interest in possible move for Barcelona star following structural changes at the club: Reports

Juventus have reportedly relaxed their interest in signing Barcelona's centre-back Ronald Araujo, according to Diario Sport (via Barca Blaugranes). The Old Lady had initially registered their interest in signing the Uruguayan in the previous January transfer window.

However, Araujo chose to remain at Barcelona, and he signed a six-year contract, which is slated to expire in June 2031. The aforementioned source claims that the new contract came with a reduction in his release clause. Araujo’s release clause was reportedly reduced to €65 million, but the expiration period was changed to July 15, 2025. Hence, interested clubs, including Juventus, were given until July 15 to trigger his release clause.

While this was done to allow interested suitors to sign him, a recent structural adjustment at Juventus might have put them out of the race for Araujo. The Italian side's new sporting director of football has placed an embargo on expensive signings.

The new Old Lady hierarchy have also adopted a fresh decision to promote their academy players and sign prospective young players in Europe. Juventus believe this decision would save costs and help them build a decent and formidable squad going forward.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona's pecking order, Araujo have been moved down in the centre-back position. While this could be down to the defender's persistent fitness concerns, he might have to remain at Barcelona and fight for a start in Hansi Flick's team.

With players like Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi in front of him at centre-back, Araujo would have to register convincing performances when given a chance to feature. Last season, he registered 25 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions.

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"The locker room was fun" - Wojciech Szczesny on his adaptation at Barcelona

Athletic Club v FC Barca- La Liga EA Sports - Source: Getty

Wojciech Szczesny has revealed that the changing room was fun at the start of his career at the Camp Nou. The Polish goalkeeper also added that he felt good at goalkeeping when he began playing for Blaugrana after missing several games.

In a recent discussion, Szczesny spoke about how he adapted at Barca. He said (via Barca Universal on X):

"Adaptation? On one hand, the locker room was fun, even though I didn’t play in the first few weeks. When I started playing and getting into a rhythm, I had that great feeling of being really good at something, of living up to my own expectations."

Szczesny joined Barca after Marc-André ter Stegen's season-long injury last term. In 30 appearances, the Polish goalkeeper kept 14 clean sheets and proved to be a key player for Blaugrana last season.