Bournemouth have completed the signing of full-back Julian Araujo on a five-year deal from Barcelona.
The Mexico international, 23, joined Barcelona from LA Galaxy in January 2023 but went without any competitive football for the first six months of his spell in Europe as his transfer was not sanctioned by FIFA due to problems and delays in filing paperwork. Once the deal was ratified last summer, Barcelona immediately farmed him out on loan to Las Palmas, where he impressed across 25 La Liga appearances and helped the newly-promoted club maintain their top-flight status.
Upon returning to Camp Nou after a strong loan spell in Las Palmas strips, it was expected that Julian Araujo would get chances to impress in the first team under new head coach Hansi Flick, but it was not to be. As a result, the young full-back has left Barcelona without making a single appearance and joined Bournemouth.
The Mexican becomes the Cherries’ fifth signing of the summer transfer window after the acquisitions of Luis Sinisterra, Enes Unal, Dean Huijsen and Alex Paulsen.
“Julián is someone who we have tracked for a while now and we’re delighted to bring him to AFC Bournemouth,” Chief Executive Neill Blake said of the signing on the club’s official website.
“He’s a young player with high potential and we’re pleased to have beaten lots of competition for his signature.
“We believe that we have all the tools here for Julián to build on the quality he already has and we really look forward to welcoming him to Vitality Stadium.”
Araujo began his career in Major League Soccer with LA Galaxy, where he made 108 senior appearances before joining Barcelona last year. The right-back was part of the side that won the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
So, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is getting a fairly experienced player with an international pedigree in Araujo, who will compete with Adam Smith for a place in the starting XI in the upcoming season.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
