Barcelona have expressed an interest in signing Manchester City full-back João Cancelo, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reveals.
Cancelo will arrive back with Pep Guardiola’s men after spending the second half of last season on loan with Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions have chosen not to exercise the €70m buy option that was involved in the loan agreement, back in January.
At the time, the loan move caught many by surprise; Cancelo had started 16 Premier League games for Manchester City. The 29-year-old also made six appearances in the Champions League where he assisted his team-mates four times, as per FBref. But, now it becomes evident that the versatile Portuguese is no longer needed as a regular starter for Guardiola. The club are working to find a solution before their pre-season campaign begins.
Xavi Hernández has previously told MD that Barcelona were close to signing Cancelo in the January transfer window. “We wanted Cancelo in January. They offered him to us and we accepted it. In the end, they told us that City didn’t want to loan him to Barça,” Xavi said.
The Catalan club have reaffirmed their interest in the full-back, although they may face competition from Arsenal.
Jake Staniland | GSFN
