Joao Cancelo, a defender for Manchester City, is edging closer to joining a different European powerhouse and leaving the Premier League champions.
With a new update released in the last day, defender Joao Cancelo of Manchester City is getting closer to leaving the Etihad Stadium for Barcelona this summer.
What’s going on with Barcelona and Joao Cancelo?
Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who has a large following on the social media platform X, has provided an update regarding Cancelo’s future in light of Barcelona’s interest in hiring him.
Apparently, Joao Cancelo’s transfer to Barcelona and Manchester City are now in their final stages of negotiation. Cancelo is waiting patiently because he wants to move and has been in agreement with Barça for weeks. Barcelona hopes to complete it this coming week. “.
Barcelona are ‘confident of finalizing’ a deal for the £250,000-a-week star this week, according to 90min, and will sign the Portugal international to a loan deal for this season with a £30 million option to buy clause that can be exercised next summer.
According to the report, Cancelo had interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia and Arsenal, but after being deemed “surplus to requirements” at Manchester City, he always preferred to play for Barcelona’s first team under Xavi.
According to The Sun, Manchester City is willing to pay the £10 million release clause on Boca Juniors left-back Valentin Barco, who Pep Guardiola has identified as a possible Cancelo replacement.
The Argentinean youngster is desired by both Brighton and Hove Albion, and the Blues are willing to return him to his present employers on loan until January.
Cancelo spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan at Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga powerhouses decided not to trigger his €70 million buyout clause, according to Romano.
Is it a bad idea to sell Cancelo?
Despite Cancelo’s obvious talent, it became evident earlier this year that Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, and he may have been on different paths because of a disagreement over the 29-year-old’s playing time, which ultimately led to his loan move to Bayern Munich, according to The Guardian.
Cancelo was unwilling to accept a smaller role in Guardiola’s plans as Nathan Ake rose to prominence at left-back, and Guardiola felt that Cancelo had to leave the club on loan.
According to Transfermarkt, during his brief stay in Germany, Cancelo played for Bayern Munich in 21 matches across all competitions, recording one goal and six assists overall.
Labelled as “outstanding” by former Manchester City man Paul Dickov back in 2021, Cancelo impressed in the Bundesliga with his ability to glide by his opposite number, completing 2.3 dribbles per match, as per WhoScored.
According to FBRef, Cancelo has outperformed his positional peers in Europe’s top five divisions when it comes to progressive carries, averaging around 4 points per 90 minutes over the past 365 days, placing him in the 97th percentile for this metric.
A loan move to Barcelona appears to be the best option for both parties before the market closes because Manchester City manager Guardiola will be aware of Cancelo’s desire to play regular first-team football and won’t be willing to sacrifice dressing room harmony to appease any individual.
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