Guardiola in dreamland as perfect Man City transfer with Barcelona gathers pace
A Manchester City transfer involving Barcelona that has the hallmarks of a win-win for all involved has been talked up by Barca chief Deco.
Kyle Walker is the only out-and-out full-back who gets a look-in at Manchester City these days. Pep Guardiola’s tactics are ever-evolving and the Spaniard now prefers to operate with a centre-back on the left side of his backline. That has seen either Josko Gvardiol or Nathan Ake feature out of position on the left.
The biggest loser in Pep’s system change was Joao Cancelo who was once an undroppable component in the City team.
The Portuguese could operate to devastating effect from either right-back or left-back, though fell foul of Guardiola’s tweaks in the middle of last season.
Cancelo was surprisingly loaned to Bayern Munich last January before again being turfed out on loan to Barcelona over the summer.
Cancelo will turn 30 in May and does not appear to have a future at The Etihad. However, his loan deal with Barcelona does not contain an option to buy.
Nevertheless, if comments by Barca chief Deco are anything to go by, the Spanish giant are desperate to secure a permanent deal next summer.
“We are still in November, it is early. But of course we are already thinking about it,” Deco told RAC1 when discussing the futures of Cancelo and fellow loanee Joao Felix.
“We see how the season is going. There is no doubt that we want to have them next season, because they are good for the squad.
“We are happy with their performance. How? We’ll see, these are discussions for later.”
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Barcelona desperation perfect for Guardiola
A permanent Cancelo move to Barcelona would appear to be a win-win for all parties involved.
Indeed, Cancelo is a regular starter at Barca who are benefitting from his attacking output from deep. The full-back has already provided two goals and an assist in LaLiga this season.
Barca would be landing one of world football’s premier full-backs and the player himself would be joining a team capable of lifting major honours.
What’s more, Man City would collect a sizeable fee for a 30-year-old player no longer fancied by Guardiola.
When picking up on Deco’s quotes, online outlet Football Espana suggested signing Cancelo and Felix outright could be the extent of Barcelona’s business next summer.
Funds are notoriously tight in Catalonia and it’s suggested their resources will be funnelled towards signing the Portuguese pair and no one else.
That gives an indication of just how desperate Barcelona are to bring Cancelo back to the club on a permanent deal.
Spanish outlet Sport previously claimed City will hope to generate €50m (approx. £43.6m) for Cancelo.
Given he’s under contract with City until 2027, the club are in an extremely strong position with regards to holding out for their full valuation.
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