Sport: Barcelona ready to bet on Cortés as Araújo departs

According to Sport, Ronald Araújo's departure has not only forced Barcelona to re-evaluate their defensive strategy but has also accelerated one of the most anticipated internal developments within the team: promoting Álvaro Cortés to a key role.

The 21-year-old Aragonese center-back has been developing through Barcelona's academy system and made significant progress last season, earning his first-team debut under Flick. He was deployed as a left-sided center-back, a particularly crucial position in the squad.

As Sport reported recently, both Flick and Deco are very satisfied with the young defender's performances. The club had already planned to integrate him into the first team, and Araújo's imminent departure makes his promotion even more logical. This not only addresses the defensive depth but also creates a pathway for this academy product. In fact, unless there is a major development, Barcelona has decided not to sign a replacement for Araújo, as their confidence in Cortés is very firm.

Barcelona's defensive situation is settled, and the possibility of signing new players has been ruled out. In principle, players like Romero or Laporte will not be joining, though nothing can be entirely ruled out. Flick already has Gerard Martín, Cubarsí, Christensen, and Álvaro Cortés at his disposal, and can also call upon Eric García, Koundé, and Rodri, who has experience in the position.

Cortés's Profile

Cortés is a good fit for Flick's system. Standing nearly 1.90 meters tall, he possesses good aerial ability and physical strength in duels, but his most valuable attribute is his positioning sense.

He is accustomed to defending deep, actively anticipating plays, and covering large areas of space—an essential skill when Barcelona typically operates with a high defensive line.

His passing ability is also outstanding. In his debut against Alavés, he recorded a 95% pass completion rate with 109 touches and 88 passes completed, while demonstrating confidence in playing through balls from the back. Defensively, he won 3 of 4 ground duels and 5 of 9 aerial duels.

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