Ronald Araujo has proven to be somewhat of a revelation for Liverpool this season, but there is still the question about his long-term future hanging over Anfield

Liverpool will decide whether they want to sign Ronald Araujo permanently at the end of the season. The Uruguayan arrived at Anfield on loan from Barcelona in the summer.

The versatile defender has been one of the Reds' star men this season, plugging the hole at right-back which had been hampering the club. Araujo's performances and bravery earned him Liverpool's Player of the Month award for October having impressed for Andoni Iraola's side, particularly in the home victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Liverpool do have the option to sign him permanently next summer, but they would have to part with £47million. It's now understood Iraola's team will make that decision at the end of the season.

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This has been claimed by Spanish outlet Sport, who understand Liverpool want to take their time on making a decision on purchasing Araujo permanently.

The outlet also states Araujo wants to wait until the climax of this campaign also, before he decides his next move. Liverpool have been pleased with his displays, not just as a right-back, but as a central defender as well.

Next year, the contract of Reds captain Virgil van Dijk will expire, as will that of Joe Gomez. It currently remains unclear as to what the future of the two central defenders is.

Liverpool also have Jeremy Jacquet, who has been excellent since his arrival in the summer from Rennes, while there are also high hopes for Giovanni Leonie, who is still recovering from an injury.

Araujo has quickly became a fan favourite at Anfield for the way he has put his body on the line. Iraola has also been impressed by Araujo, even if he did admit deploying the Uruguayan at right-back can make Liverpool's attack slightly blunter.

The ex-Bournemouth boss said: "It helps us to defend better, but it is true that you lose a little bit also offensively on the other side. Offensively, we cannot demand of Ronald the same thing of other full-backs and what they give us, but we have to balance this with other positions and other patterns.”

Iraola did concede Araujo's presence at right-back does tighten things up at the back, adding: "It definitely helps having a centre-back at right-back when we talk about defending set-pieces. It helps a bit with the height and the physicality of the team.

"But it is very early in the season so I don’t want to say this and then we start conceding set-pieces. It is a long-term thing and I hope we can keep it this way. Defensively, we are defending really well lately but still we have some situations where we need to improve.

"In the league, we have been less dangerous offensively. So it is still too early to take big conclusions, but there are improvements needed everywhere."