Change is coming.
Ruben Amorim knows Manchester United’s backline won’t survive another season like the last. The cracks are clear. Jonny Evans, ageing. Lindelöf, uncertain. The defence is gasping for reinvention—and United are moving.
They’ve found their target. Ronald Araujo. Barcelona’s once immovable wall, now slightly out of favour. United believe he’s gettable. £51 million. That’s the magic number. But there’s a twist—Marcus Rashford.
A swap deal is on the table according to El Nacional (via Sport Illustrated). Rashford, still just 27, spent the latter half of the season rediscovering form at Aston Villa. Yet at Old Trafford, the flame is fading. After seasons of inconsistency, injuries, and shadows of what once was, his exit feels like destiny—one that could breathe life into both parties.
Barça want a forward. United want a defender. Each has what the other lacks. The timing, the need, the opportunity—it’s all aligning.
Araujo would be the foundation of something new. Amorim’s system, often relying on a fluid back three, needs steel and vision.
The Uruguayan, raw but composed, can offer both. His physicality intimidates. His distribution surprises. He isn’t perfect, not yet. But intelligence covers what instinct lacks.
This move isn’t about fanfare. It’s about fixing what’s broken.
And Rashford? Perhaps Barcelona offers him the escape he needs. Away from the burden of expectation. Away from the ghosts of past seasons.
Araujo, as reports now suggest, is not just available—he’s within reach.
The road to redemption starts with defence. And maybe, just maybe, with goodbye.