Manchester United "readying a huge offer" for 6ft1 £50m ace Liverpool are "very close to"

Liverpool are "very close to" Ronald Araujo, reports Nacional, but Marca claims Manchester United are "pushing hardest" to land his signature.

The Reds have a lot of depth at centre-back but have been strongly linked with a move to sign Araujo over the last few months.

He's not currently a necessity but that may change if Joe Gomez decides that he needs to leave Anfield to increase his game time.

Liverpool and Manchester United's defensive records compared

As far as clubs go that need centre-backs, the Red Devils certainly rank higher than Jurgen Klopp's side after they signed Ibrahima Konate for £36million in the summer even if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recruited Raphael Varane for £41m before he was sacked.

Liverpool have conceded 19 goals in the Premier League this season although they might have conceded more had it not been for Alisson Becker, who is arguably the best 1v1 goalkeeper on the planet even if he could brush up on his distribution.

Manchester United have conceded 30 league goals but can also thank their goalkeeper, David De Gea, otherwise, that figure could be higher and signing a centre-back could be the partial answer to their prayers.

Liverpool "very close to Araujo" but "United are readying a huge offer"

El Nacional reports that £50m ace Ronald Aruajo has told Barcelona that unless they pay him more money, he will leave the club with Anfield his preferred next step.

Their headline read: “More money or he goes with Klopp to Liverpool.” They go on to say that Liverpool are “very close to Araujo” but they add that Chelsea are also interested in the 22-year-old defender.

Marca, via 90Min, contradicts them by claiming that Man Utd are "pushing hardest" to sign the Uruguayan defender should he decide to quit Camp Nou and head to the Premier League.

Most significantly, they claim that "United are readying a huge offer" for Araujo to satisfy his financial wishes, with the 22-year-old currently earning £35,000 per week.

Liverpool currently don't need Araujo but that could change with departures

Currently, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are Klopp's first-choice centre-halves and although the latter's passing was a bit wayward before the winter break and the former has been struggling (perhaps as a result of his ACL injury), they're a strong duo.

Beyond them, Klopp can still form a very, very strong duo of Konate and Gomez although it remains to be seen what the Englishman's long-term plans are as he has played just 440 minutes this season.

It may just be part of a long-term plan from Liverpool to bring him back from his patellar tendon injury - his fourth serious knee injury with the Reds - but if he decides to leave, signing someone like Araujo may make more sense than it does at the moment.