City prepared to allow Cancelo departure
Joao Cancelo will be allowed to leave Manchester City in the summer if a club meets with their £50m valuation, according to insiders at the Etihad.
German giants Bayern Munich were linked with a loan move for the Portugal international right-back during last month’s January transfer window.
It’s understood Inter Milan are also keen on the defender who only arrived at City seven months ago from Juventus, in a £60m deal which sent Danilo in the opposite direction to the Serie A champions.
Cancelo was valued at £27m as part of that agreement, which is why the Citizens have placed such a high resale figure on his head.
The Manchester giants are continuing to hold transfer talks with Coritiba’s 17-year-old right-back Yan Couto, dubbed the next Dani Alves in his homeland and also wanted at Barcelona.
The teenager was present with his agent Marcelo Robalinho to watch Pep Guardiola’s ten-man outfit lose 2-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
City are close to agreeing a deal worth around £15m for the Brazil under-17 starlet and will then send the player back on loan to Coritiba.
Club sources, however, have stated Couto could return to the Etihad at the end of the season and that Cancelo is already weighing up his options.
It’s believed the former Valencia player has struggled to settle in his new surroundings and would jump at the chance of a move to another big club on the continent.
Cancelo has failed to dislodge England right-back Kyle Walker from his regular starting position, restricting him to just 10 appearances so far in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old has a young family and knows the jury is still out on him at the Etihad.
He is also aware Guardiola is planning a major clear out at the end of the season to finance a rebuild of his leaky rear-guard, having finally ran out of patience.
John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Benjamin Mendy are all in the firing line, although it will be interesting to see if a club is willing to effectively hand City their money back on Cancelo.
