Barcelona defender given an extra week off to find a suitor, Xavi not convinced by him

Every now and then, Barcelona pull out a dubious transfer to stump fans across the globe. Often, these players do not play for the team despite arriving with high expectations as was the case with Miralem Pjanic a few years ago.

Julian Araujo is the latest entrant on that list, but the defender’s case appears to be more complicated than others.

The Mexican international arrived at Spotify Camp Nou last winter from LA Galaxy in a deal worth €4 million. But his transfer was not authorised by FIFA due to a small delay in filing the documents. He has trained with Barça Atletic and the first team ever since, without playing a competitive game.

According to reports from AS, Barcelona do not know what to do with the right-back. The Catalans gave the player an extra week off after his participation in the Gold Cup hoping he would find a suitor.

The player has still not joined the squad in the United States and has no place under Xavi Hernandez for the upcoming campaign. Indeed, the report states that the Barcelona manager has not been convinced by the 21-year-old right-back.

As such, a departure remains a serious option, and Porto have shown an interest. However, nothing concrete has materialised from the same.

Araujo is yet to debut for the first team in an official game. His only appearance in the Blaugrana colours came in the friendly against Vissel Kobe at the end of last season, and it remains to be seen if he can convince the manager should he get a chance in the coming weeks.

As it stands, Xavi is set to head into a second straight season with no natural right-back. Joao Cancelo, Ivan Fresneda, and Pablo Maffeo remain on the club’s radar but cannot arrive until sufficient sales are made. For now, the manager will have to count on Jules Kounde once more to do the work at right-back.