Barcelona and Arsenal are two clubs who are interested in signing MCFC full-back Joao Cancelo but the defender seems to have gotten back on good terms with Pep Guardiola.
He was sent out on loan in January after having a falling out with the Manchester City manager but he’s now back at the club after Bayern Munich have refused to sign him permanently for a fee of €70 million.
Joao Cancelo is travelling with Manchester City for their pre-season tour and speaking ahead of City’s friendly against Yokohama F. Marinos Guardiola has dropped a hint that the defender might still have a future under him.
“He is here. Joao has been so important for us in the past,” the Spanish manager said(h/t Goal). “He is back here and is part of the group. We will see what happens.”
Will MCFC decide against selling Joao Cancelo or is he leaving?
These positive words will be good news for Manchester City fans because Cancelo is a top talent but according to the latest reports, the Cityzens are not against selling him, if the right offer comes in.
The EPL champions have lowered their demands as they are now ready to accept around €50 million but they are not willing to send him out on another loan spell.
Barcelona manager Xavi has been very keen to land the full-back and they have had plans to make an offer for a loan deal for the 23/24 season. That option is now off the table so it remains to be seen if Barca are willing to spend €50 million on Cancelo. They are not in the best financial shape so a loan arrangement would have worked best for them but if MCFC do not change their decision then it will be really hard for the Blaugrana to challenge Arsenal in this transfer race.
Arsenal, on the other hand, won’t mind paying €50-55 million for someone like Joao Cancelo, more so cause Mikel Arteta is eager to add a top-class right-back to his squad. Centre-back Ben White played on the right-hand side last campaign but with the Gunners getting ready to get back into the Champions League they will need a proper right-back.
The 29-year-old has played 154 games for the blue half of Manchester and he’s scored and assisted 31 goals for the club. Primarily, he’s a right-back but is also capable of playing on the left and unlike other full-backs, the Portugal international is equally brilliant on either side of defence.
If things have patched up between Joao Cancelo and his manager then the only thing that can secure his exit from Manchester City will be a formal offer to buy from either Barcelona or Arsenal. We seriously doubt if Barcelona can afford to pay the required amount(especially since they are also chasing a player like Bernardo Silva), so all eyes will be on Arsenal and their manager.
If a good enough offer does not come in then Pep Guardiola won’t mind holding on to the right-back for one more season which isn’t at all bad for the player or the club.
