Barcelona will soon submit an official offer to sign 29-year-old Portuguese international Joao Cancelo from Manchester City this summer.
According to reputed Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Joao Cancelo remains the top right-back target for Barcelona. And the Catalan giants are ready to present a formal bid to sign the 29-year-old full-back. Meanwhile, the Manchester City defender has already agreed to personal terms with the Blaugrana.
Joao Cancelo finds himself at a crucial juncture in his career after the end of his loan spell with Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions have not activated the purchase option in their loan deal to sign the Portuguese international. Meanwhile, he does not seem to be a part of Pep Guardiola’s plans.
The 29-year-old has not been a part of the matchday squad in either the Community Shield match or the Premier League season opener against Burnley. So Guardiola has made it clear that Cancelo will not feature for his team much if at all, this season. But the player’s stock remains high, with Barcelona keen on signing him.
The Catalan giants have struggled to find a reliable right-back for several years. And the situation has been so dire that Xavi Hernandez has had to use Jules Kounde, a centre-back, on the right flank. But Joan Laporta revealed earlier this year that Barcelona would sign a right-back in the summer transfer window.
Understand Barcelona are set to submit formal bid for João Cancelo! Loan with option to buy clause, on the table with Man City 🚨🔵🔴 #FCB
Crucial days to make it happen after personal terms agreed.
Barça will use part of Dembélé money for Cancelo, as revealed one week ago. pic.twitter.com/WKqd6s6U5E
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 14, 2023
Several candidates have thus emerged on Barcelona’s radar, with Ivan Fresneda, Jeremie Frimpong, and Arnau Martinez among the targets. But Cancelo is Barcelona’s priority right-back target this summer. And the two parties have already sealed the agreement on personal terms.
But the issue centred around the transfer fee, as Barcelona cannot afford to pay substantial sums on new signings. However, recent reports have brought positive news for the Blaugrana, with Manchester City easing on the demands. And Barcelona will soon table a formal bid to sign the 29-year-old Portuguese international.
Cancelo has been keen on joining Barcelona this summer. And moving to the Catalan club will help him resurrect his stuttering career. It will be interesting to see how quickly the reigning La Liga champions finalise the deal to secure his services.
