Manchester City have been tipped to sell Joao Cancelo for good this summer despite the defender scoring and assisting for Bayern Munich on Saturday in a 5-3 win against Augsburg.
According to journalist Steve Bates, the Portuguese international is primed to depart the Etihad Stadium on a permanent basis this summer based on the fact that Pep Guardiola loaned out Cancelo in the first place, with transfer interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid already being reported.
Cancelo was signed by City for £60m in 2019 and has since gone on to become one of the best fullbacks in world football. However, a lack of form since the 2022 FIFA World Cup and training ground disagreements with Guardiola saw the defender leave the club on loan for Bayern.
Indeed, Guardiola is known for his ruthlessness in dealing with players he falls out with and his ability to get them off the books in an efficient manner. And for Cancelo, the defender looks set to be sold by City this summer despite the fullback’s obvious qualities.
Bates said when asked on what the prospects are like of City to sell Cancelo this summer having been sent out on loan to Bayern for the remainder of the season: “I think it’s very difficult once Guardiola lets you go out on loan. I think he’s probably made up his mind already.
“Guardiola sold Sterling, Jesus and Zinchenko last summer. They were really top, top players and doing well for him, but he let them go. Cancelo has obviously had disagreements with him and his form has gone. It has not been what it was, so I would suspect that Cancelo’s days at City are definitely over.”
MANCHESTER CITY COULD REGRET SELLING CANCELO THIS SUMMER
City had good cases to offload star players last summer in Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, but in the case of Cancelo, the Manchester side could have major regrets over selling the Portuguese international given just how hard it will be to find a similar player out there in the market.
As we know, Cancelo is in the prime of his career and is accomplished at playing both left-back and right-back, and if City are to sell the defender, Guardiola will be out of options in the transfer window to replace what the 28-year-old offers to the squad.
Source: hitc.com
