Just when it seemed like the Joao Cancelo rumours had died, they are once again back on the radar for all to witness.
Barcelona, who had been busy this summer recently, dealing with the departures of Franck Kessie and Ousmane Dembele, have once again turned their attention to the Portuguese fullback.
Latest reports suggest that the Blaugranas have reactivated talks with Machester City over Cancelo yet again, in order to bring in the Portuguese, who is manager Xavi’s top priority this season.
🚨 Negotiations between Barcelona and Manchester City for Joao Cancelo are restarting! 🔵🔴He is Xavi and Barcelona’s priority this summer. 🇵🇹
(Source: @FabrizioRomano) pic.twitter.com/YUk5fryiWG
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) August 11, 2023
According to reports from Catalan media Cancelo has accepted to lower his salary to fit within Barça’s budget and the La Liga salary cap, and the only issue is convincing City with a good enough offer. Football reporter Fabrizio Romano himself reported last week that Barça plan to use the funds from Dembélé’s sale to present an official proposal to the reigning European champions.
It seems as if Barca may have recently activated yet another ‘economic lever’ after freeing up funds for new signings. So, we’ll soon find out what the offer is now that the talks have restarted.
Cancelo arrived back with Pep Guardiola’s men after spending the second half of last season on loan with Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions have chosen not to exercise the €70m buy option that was involved in the loan agreement, back in January.
Cancelo has also been seemingly cut from the City squad as manager Pep Guardiola axed the fullback from City’s first two matches this season. In fact, Cancelo was not even a part of the bench in City’s Premier League opener against Burnley today.
Xavi Hernández has previously told that Barcelona were close to signing Cancelo in the January transfer window. “We wanted Cancelo in January. They offered him to us and we accepted it. In the end, they told us that City didn’t want to loan him to Barça,” Xavi said in an interview.
It also has to be kept in mind that Cancelo is currently in Portugal dealing with a family matter as he awaits news on his future.