Barcelona consider German duo as replacements for Frenkie de Jong & Ronald Araujo
- Barcelona could sell Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo in 2025
- Contracts run out one year later but club reluctant to lose them for free
- Joshua Kimmich and Jonathan Tah emerge as transfer targets
By Sean Walsh
Barcelona are said to be weighing up moves for Joshua Kimmich and Jonathan Tah as replacements for Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo.
De Jong and Araujo's contracts in Catalonia expire in 2026, but neither is close to agreeing fresh terms.
As such, Barcelona are reluctant to run the risk of losing them for free in two years and could look to sell them at the end of this season.
Mundo Deportivo report that the voids potentially left by De Jong and Araujo could be filled by Germany pair Kimmich and Tah.
Kimmich's future at Bayern Munich is undecided with his deal up in 2025, while Tah has already stressed he will leave Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer when his contract runs out in little under 12 months.
Barcelona are attracted to the experience that Kimmich and Tah, who turn 30 and 29 respectively in February, would bring to a squad full of young players. Kimmich also played under new Barca head coach Hansi Flick at Bayern.
Though Araujo and De Jong are both vice-captains and a prominent part of Barcelona's leadership group within the dressing room, the club remain unaware of their future plans and so are getting ready in case they need to be sold.
Araujo was linked with a Barcelona exit over the summer, though club president Joan Laporta helped convince the defender to stay. De Jong, meanwhile, has been more settled since Barca held talks with Manchester United over his sale back in 2022 when Erik ten Hag was appointed as the Red Devils' manager.