Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo is reportedly set to join European giants Bayern Munich on loan with a view to a permanent move. The Portuguese right-back has found game time limited this season at the Etihad.
The Athletic reports that Cancelo, 28, is heading to the Allianz Arena. The Bavarians are long-term admirers. He has been displaced in Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup this season, featuring 26 times, scoring twice and providing five assists. However, he has been an unused substitute in City’s last three games.
Guardiola has preferred to use academy graduate Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and John Stones at full-back rather than Cancelo. That’s despite the Portuguese coming off a 2021-22 season, where he was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year. There are question marks over why Manchester City are willing to allow the Portugal international to leave.
João Cancelo had more shots than any other Manchester City player in the 2021/22 #PL Season [81]. https://t.co/sagxdykpVO
Cancelo arrived at the Etihad from Juventus in 2019 for £27 million, with Danilo heading in the opposite direction. The right-back has since made 154 appearances for the Cityzens, scoring nine goals and providing 22 assists. His contract with City runs till 2027.
He joins a Bayern Munich side experiencing a dip in form, drawing their last three games. Just a point separates them from Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, and Freiburg at the Bundesliga summit. Cancelo may be available to play in Julian Nagelsmann’s side’s next fixture on Wednesday (February 1), a last-16 encounter with Mainz in the DFB-Pokal.
Manchester City’s Walker attracts interest from Fenerbahce
Another defender linked with a departure from Manchester City is full-back Walker. Like Cancelo, he has also fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad this season. Lewis, 18, has displaced him at right-back. Walker’s contract with Guardiola’s side expires in 2024.
According to Turkish outlet A Spor, Fenerbahce are keen on signing Walker and look to take advantage of his contractual situation and age (32). The fee being touted to prise him away from City is around €6-7 million.
He has featured 14 times across competitions this season, contributing one assist and helping his side keep six clean sheets. Walker has been at Manchester City since 2017, arriving from Tottenham Hotspur for £45 million.
Walker has vast experience as an established England international, racking up 73 international caps. He has also won the Premier League four times with Guardiola’s side.
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