Manchester City could see another major departure before the end of the transfer window
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola(Image credit: Getty Images)
After winning a fourth straight Premier League title, Manchester City have not had to perform any major surgery on their squad during the summer transfer window.
Brazilian winger Savinho has been their only major signing to date, although the club are working to finalise an emotional homecoming for midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from Barcelona.
Julian Alvarez has the club’s big departure this summer, with the striker joining Atletico Madrid in a £82miillion move, but there could be one more significant sale before next week’s transfer deadline day.
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Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo has not played for the club since January 2023 when he was loaned to Bayern Munich for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign before spending last season at Barcelona.
This came after reports that the 30-year-old had fallen out with Pep Guardiola over a lack of playing time, while the manager’s playing style has evolved to a place where he does not rely on traditional full-backs in his defence, often deploying centre-backs in that position.
Despite returning to the City squad this summer, Cancelo now appears to be heading towards a permanent exit. Fabrizio Romano reports on X that Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal have made a formal bid to sign the player and the club are in negotiations with both City and Cancelo’s representatives.
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Joao Cancelo in action for Manchester City (Image credit: Alamy)
This comes after a fee of €38million for the player and a wage pack of £360,000 per week were mooted in reports coming out of Saudi Arabia, where Al-Hilal’s Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus has made his fellow countryman his top priority in the transfer market.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, it has been clear that Cancelo, as talented as he is, does not have a future at the Etihad while Guardiola is in charge, so this offer in excess of his Tranfermarkt valuation of €25million looks to be a viable solution for all parties.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
