Virgil van Dijk welcomes Ronald Araújo to Liverpool after loan deal from Barcelona

Virgil van Dijk is ready to welcome Ronald Araújo as his new centre‑back partner at Liverpool with the loan deal to sign the Barcelona defender completed on Monday.

Uruguay international Araújo, 27, arrives on a one-year contract and has also played at right-back, a vulnerable area of Liverpool’s squad as Conor Bradley continues his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury and with Jeremie Frimpong still to nail down a first XI spot after a disrupted first season at Anfield.

On Sunday, Van Dijk played almost an hour in his first pre-season appearance as Liverpool were beaten 3-2 by Monaco at home, having led 2-0. The Dutchman fouled Aleksandr Golovin just before the break to concede a penalty, which Golovin scored.

Jérémy Jacquet remained absent, Liverpool’s new £50m arrival being treated with kid gloves after an injury‑hit spell at the end of last season with Rennes. Araújo has been signed to bolster Andoni Iraola’s defensive options, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni also sidelined.

“I can’t wait to get started. I’m very, very happy,” Araújo, who has 27 international caps, told Liverpool’s official website. “It was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. I think it was a move that was necessary for me to take. As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really, really quickly.

“I’m super-happy to be here and excited to get started. I’m glad about the interest and it was the right move at the right time.”

Van Dijk said of Araújo: “Any player that arrives at the club we will be welcoming.”

The captain was upbeat about Jacquet and the prospect of more transfer activity before the deadline on 1 September. Liverpool are keen to add to their forward line with Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola of interest. “Let’s see what the next couple of weeks are going to bring,” Van Dijk said. “Any quality we can add to the team will definitely be welcome so let’s see.”

The Dutchman said of Jacquet: “I’ve not seen any of him. I’ve spoken to him. I’ve seen him walking around and we have conversations. I can’t wait to see him back on the pitch and I hope that happens very soon. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know exactly the situation, but I have a feeling this week he could be back on the pitch, hopefully as soon as possible.”

Van Dijk accepted Liverpool are in transition after the sacking of Arne Slot and revealed he has been in regular contact with Andoni Iraola, offering full support to the head coach. “We had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced and the main thing for him to know is I am here for him regardless, anything he needs, wants to know, wants me to do for the team or whatever. Hopefully we will be successful this season.

“Nothing to take away from Arne and his staff, we had an amazing time together, but obviously last year [was] a disappointment. This year we have a new manager who has new ways of preparation, so we have to adapt to the new staff, different training methods. I liked working under Arne and I am sure I will like working under the new manager.”