The £43m wing-back gem who Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea are all scrambling to sign
Newcastle, Aston Villa & Chelsea are among a number of Premier League sides to be linked with a new wing-back
As the summer transfer window inches closer, one player’s name is starting to crop up in the gossip columns not only with increasing regularity, but in connection with a remarkably wide range of Premier League sides: Sporting wing-back Maxi Araújo.
Recent reports suggest that the Uruguayan, a regular for both club and country, is on the radar of both Newcastle United and Aston Villa, while previous stories suggest that Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and both Manchester clubs have shown an interest. That’s a lot of sides taking a look at Araújo – but how likely is it that he moves to England this summer, and is he too much of a gamble to be worth spending more than £40m on?
Maxi Araújo: The high-risk, high-reward wing-back linked with half of the Premier League
The 26-year-old Araújo has spent the last two seasons in Portugal after Sporting signed him from Mexican side Toluca, and swiftly established himself as a regular starter in the Primeira Liga – a versatile, dynamic threat down the left flank whose discipline has often opened him up to criticism.
Typically employed as an aggressive wing-back but also able to play as a true winger, Araújo has a rare combination of pace and ball control which allows him to progress play quickly down the flank with the ball at his feet, and to spark counter-attacks by getting into dangerous areas before opposing defences can react.
His knack for finding pockets of space at speed has made him a headache for many defences, and with his quick feet allowing him to attack both the inside and outside of the opposing full-back he’s able to break defensive lines apart quickly – while also having the tenacity and energy to get back quickly to defend when moves break down.
He’s not a natural defender, necessarily, but his aggression off the ball means he forces plenty of turnovers – he’s averaging four per game in the Primeira Liga this season – while also ensuring that he picks up a relatively high number of cards. He has been sent off in each of his past three seasons in Portugal and Mexico, a record which may give some interested parties pause for thought.
Another concern is that his end product has yet to become as consistent as his managers might have wanted. Although he creates space with ease, he doesn’t always exploit it – while he has scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists in his 81 appearances for Sporting, he has underperformed his xG and his final ball can be wayward. This is a player who can be frustrating, both in terms of his discipline and the frequency with which he squanders chances to score or create goals.
His ability to get into such a high volume of threatening positions, however, would still make him an asset for teams who want to play with attacking wing-backs that spend at least as much time in the opposing half as their own. Sides who take a more conservative approach in wide areas are likely to be less interested, as his one-on-one defending and fundamental positional sense around his own area are no better than average for the highest level – but the reward is there alongside the risk. At his best, Araújo can be deadly on the ball and a grafter out of possession. But which Premier League sides might attempt to sign him?
Newcastle, Aston Villa, Chelsea & Manchester United among Araújo’s alleged suitors
The list of teams linked with Araújo is now a lengthy one, and it’s difficult to pick the rumours apart to know which teams hold a sincere interest in acquiring him and which might look elsewhere – and when so many different sides with different needs are connected with any given player, it’s always hard not to suspect the hint of an eager agent throwing names around rather than solid transfer stories with truth at their heart.
Some of the teams being mentioned seem to be unlikely candidates. GiveMeSport suggest that Arsenal have shown interest, but they are well-stocked at left-back and even if Myles Lewis-Skelly leaves, as has been rumoured, they are likely to have Piero Hincapié for the long haul with his loan from Bayer Leverkusen expected to be made permanent.
Manchester City - against whom Araújo scored his first Sporting goal in November 2024 - also seem to be well-stocked at left-back, but that still leaves Newcastle, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United as plausible candidates to enter the market, with all of those teams mentioned in recent reporting from Sport Witness.
Araújo’s aggressive style would naturally lend itself to teams who like to play wide and direct, which is an apt description of Newcastle under Eddie Howe. It’s not clear that they will have a deep enough transfer budget to spend a significant sum on a player who would offer competition to Lewis Hall, rather than act as an immediate starter, but their tactical style would mesh well with Araújo’s natural qualities.
Manchester United seem to be looking for a slightly more defensively-minded full-back to allow them to deploy Patrick Dorgu further forward, while Chelsea have generally used their wing-backs in slightly more conservative fashion – although with no certainty as to who will be managing either side after the summer, that could change.
Aston Villa and Spurs seem like reasonably logical destinations, at least. Roberto De Zerbi, in particular, likes his wing-backs to push high upfield to support attacks and Araújo fits the bill – if they stay up, anyway. There is no chance that Tottenham could compete for his signature in the Championship.
According to Sport Witness, Sporting will demand a transfer fee in the region of €40-45m – up to £43m – for Araújo, who has a minimum fee release clause of €80m baked into a contract which runs until 2029. That’s within the compass of the teams linked with him on paper, but with several of them likely to spend big in other areas he could be overlooked at that price point if seen more as a rotational option than a player who would instantly nail down a starting place.
Araújo’s recent form won’t help to persuade Premier League teams to part with such a substantial sum. The Uruguayan has endured an indifferent spring, with no goals and just one assist since February to go alongside some comparatively subdued performances. He hasn’t looked like a £40m-plus player in the past couple of months, and may need to kick on to ensure that any of his supposed suitors shell out come the summer.
He would represent an intriguing and arguably exciting gamble for a Premier League side to take – not consistent or disciplined, by any means, but capable of stretching defences at his best while offering width and attacking intent. It will be interesting to see what bids come in.