‘Days at City are over’: Guardiola tipped to sell £60m player despite Saturday performance
It is being suggested that Manchester City may sell Joao Cancelo permanently this summer, even though he scored and helped set up goals for Bayern Munich in a 5-3 victory against Augsburg on Saturday.
Journalist Steve Bates believes that the fact that Pep Guardiola loaned Cancelo out initially suggests that he could be leaving Etihad Stadium soon.
There are already reports of interest in the Portuguese international from Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Despite being signed by Manchester City for £60m in 2019 and becoming one of the top fullbacks in the world, Joao Cancelo’s form has been lacking since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and he has had disagreements with Guardiola at training.
As Guardiola is known for being ruthless with players he doesn’t get along with, it appears likely that Cancelo will be sold by City this summer, despite his undeniable talents as a fullback.
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.”
Last summer, Manchester City had strong reasons to sell star players like Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling. However, if they do decide to sell Joao Cancelo, the club could come to regret it.
It will be very difficult to find a player with similar abilities on the market, as Cancelo is at the peak of his career and is skilled at both left-back and right-back positions.
If City does sell him, Guardiola will have no other options in the transfer window to replace the valuable contributions Cancelo brings to the squad.
‘Days at City are over’: Guardiola tipped to sell £60m player despite Saturday performance
