Fabrizio Romano has told Give Me Sport that Arsenal are no longer interested in signing MCFC full-back Joao Cancelo which means it’s Barcelona who are now the favourites to land him.
The Gunners are about to bring in Jurrien Timber and because the player can play as a centre-back as well as a right-back Mikel Arteta is planning to put this versatility to use instead of spending money on Cancelo.
He said: “Arsenal have always monitored (Cancelo). We always mentioned Cancelo as a player appreciated by Arsenal. But, at the moment, I think with Timber, their idea is to cover the right-back and centre-back positions.
“He’s a very versatile player that Mikel Arteta loves to have in the squad. So, this is the idea.”
Will MCFC now send Joao Cancelo to Barcelona in the coming weeks?
Manchester City had paid €65 million to Juventus for the defender and because his current contract with the club expires in 2027, City want around €70 million.
This price is the reason why Bayern did not sign him on a permanent deal and there’s no way Barcelona can afford to pay such a massive transfer fee either. MCFC have made it clear that they want to offload Cancelo permanently this summer but as per the latest reports, Barca will still be pushing for a loan deal with an obligation/option to buy next year.
They are banking on the fact that Pep Guardiola does not want to keep Joao Cancelo in his squad so if no one wants to buy him permanently then Man City will at least be happy to send him out on loan.
Bayern have backed off and now as per Romano, Arsenal do not wish to sign Joao Cancelo either which means if City doesn’t allow the 29-year-old to join Barcelona on a loan deal then they will have to hold onto him and pay him unnecessary wages for the whole of next season.
Are Arsenal doing the right thing by not going after the full-back?
Joao Cancelo would have been a top-class signing for Arsenal but we can see why Arteta has decided against it. They have already spent around €70 million on Kai Havertz plus another €170 million on Timber and Declan Rice and since Jurrien Timber can play as a right-back, there’s no point in splurging €65-70 million for Joao Cancelo.
In the 2022/23 season, Timber played 47 games for Ajax and all of them were in central defence but over the years, the versatile 22-year-old has played 49 games as a right-back for the Eredivisie club.
Last season, Ben White played on the right for Arsenal and he too is a natural centre-back but any day, Jurrien Timber will be an upgrade to the England defender.
Yes, Arsenal will need a big squad because they will be playing in the Champions League next season but there’s no way they can afford to spend more than €250 million in a single transfer window.
