Barcelona will reportedly prioritise signing Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo this summer but will need to pay a loan fee of €20 million
According to a report by Spanish outlet SPORT, Joao Cancelo is a priority target for Barcelona. The Catalan giants are keen on signing the Manchester City defender. But the Premier League champions want a fee of €20 million to loan the Portuguese international to Barcelona.
Joao Cancelo is reaching a crucial juncture of his career after joining Bayern Munich on loan in January. The 28-year-old returned from the 2022 FIFA World Cup and fell out of favour with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. But he has fared decently at the Allianz Arena in the last couple of months.
The Portuguese international has chipped in with one goal and four assists in eight appearances thus far for Bayern Munich. But he will likely return to Manchester City when the ongoing season ends. And uncertainties surrounding Cancelo’s future have captured the attention of Barcelona.
Joan Laporta has already iterated that Barcelona will enter the market for a right-back in the summer transfer window. That is hardly surprising, considering Jules Kounde, a centre-back, is the first-choice right-back for Xavi Hernandez. And with the ageing Sergi Roberto the only recognised right-back in the squad, Barcelona will need to invest in a top-class right-back.
Several right-backs have thus popped up on Barcelona’s radar. And Joao Cancelo has also emerged as a viable target for the Blaugrana. Meanwhile, the report by SPORT claims that the 28-year-old Manchester City defender is a priority target for Barcelona.
But the Premier League champions will demand a loan fee of €20 million in exchange for Cancelo’s services. That might put a spanner in the works for Barcelona, whose financial woes are showing no signs of disappearing. That is why recent reports have claimed that Barcelona will unlikely sign the Manchester City defender.
But with SPORT insisting that Cancelo is Barcelona’s priority target, it will be interesting to see if they pay the required loan fee of €20 million. Meanwhile, the player’s Manchester City future remains uncertain heading into the summer transfer window.
