There could be a Manchester City return for Joao Cancelo on the horizon, with Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg reporting that Bayern Munich are finding it “difficult” to get a deal done for the defender.
Where is Joao Cancelo?
Pep Guardiola’s side utilised the Portugal international plenty of times when he first completed a switch to the Etihad Stadium, giving him 17 Premier League outings in the campaign when he first arrived. Cancelo then went on to play a further 28 times with five goal contributions a campaign later before really making his mark in the 2021/22 season.
That year, the defender was a first-team regular and made 36 appearances for the club in the league with seven assists and one goal. Despite that form, he was in and out of the City first-team from that point onwards and was ultimately shipped off to current club Bayern Munich on loan. That didn’t stop him from being named in the FIFPro World Eleven though for his showings throughout 2022.
Since his move to the Bundesliga, he has once more managed to produce in terms of his assists (4) but has still only earned ten starts for the German giants. However, with the 28-year-old proving to be a useful option, they might have hoped to land the player permanently beyond this campaign. With City adding in a buy option on the deal, it makes it even more possible that it could happen.
However, a fresh report from Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has revealed that Bayern may find it “difficult” to get a permanent deal done for Cancelo. A buy clause is reportedly set at 70 million Euros (£60m) but that the Bundesliga side may still struggle to finalise an agreement.
“News Cancelo: Been told that it‘s very difficult to sign him permanently. Even Cancelo himself does not expect to play for Bayern beyond the end of the season. Tendency at this stage: He will leave Bayern in summer but the bosses are trying to find a solution. Option to buy: €70m (£60m).”
Should Man City keep Joao Cancelo?
The Premier League side do have options on both flanks currently but when Cancelo was at his peak at the Etihad Stadium, he was hard for opposition players to deal with.
Even before the player was shipped off to Bayern Munich he impressed in England. Despite having to work with just a handful of games, he still produced a 7.04 rating on WhoScored and still managed to bag himself two goals and one assist along the way. At his very peak for City during that 2021/22 campaign, he managed a 7.42 rating – an incredible tally for a player who produced both offensively and defensively for the side.
If City were to get Cancelo back onside then and fit him into their team, they would undoubtedly be stronger for it. Bayern though will most certainly want to try and keep the 28-year-old if they can.