Bayern's Determination to Sign Araújo and Ansu Fati's South England Updates

Bayern Munich has still not given up their pursuit for Uruguay and Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo. Rumors broke out around mid-December that the Bavarian's Sporting Director has already held talks with the defender through a phone call.

But soon after, FC Barcelona refused to negotiate with the German giants, who had plans of offering €70 million for the Uruguayan defender. Following the refusal, Bayern started to explore other options.

The Bavarians have signed Eric Dier from Tottenham and there are also rumors that they will sign PSG center-back Nordi Mukiele. These signings would have generally indicated that Bayern had moved on from Ronald, but that is not the case.

According to Sport, the German giants are gonna restart their journey to secure Araújo if Matthijs de Ligt leaves. The Dutch international has played only 54 matches for Bayern and has appeared only 11 times this season.

After Bayern's recent signings, de Light will fall out of preference behind 4 defenders, which might force the defender to leave. The Dutchman might want to play under his old Ajax coach, Erik Ten Hag. Evidently, there have been strong rumors linking the Ajax defender to Manchester United in recent days.

If the Manchester deal goes through, then Bayern might recover a significant amount of money of which they invested in the defender. This money can also aid in covering up the deal with Ronald Araújo.

Ansu Fati Misses Another Opportunity at Brighton

Following the start of Asia's and Africa's continental football tournaments, Brighton regulars Mitoma and Adingra went back home to serve their nation. This opened up an ample opportunity for Ansu Fati to earn his rightful position in De Zerbi's starting XI.

Both the players are set to return by February at latest. De Zerbi had also previously clarified that Ansu is one of his most important assets. But a calf injury in November 2023 put this chance to bed. By the time Fati recovers, the two starters will be back from their national duty.

In the current situation, the Spanish winger is going to have a hard time in order to earn a starting spot at the English club. Ever since Ansu Fati's first Champions League goal, the kid was destined for stardom. He even inherited Lionel Messi's no.10 shirt at Barcelona.

But the young winger struggled to get minutes under the new coach Xavi. The gaffer wasn't wrong in not providing the kid enough minutes either, as the internal competition was too high for a budding talent. Now the 21-year-old stands in an unfamiliar country where he must prove his worth to be worthy of wearing Messi's no.10 again.