Manchester City have ‘gotten to work’ on a deal with Barcelona for Joao Cancelo as his refusal to move to Italy has made getting rid of him more complicated.
That’s according to Sport, who say Cancelo ‘will almost certainly’ be a Barcelona player again next season after his loan spell there last season.
The newspaper explains that Cancelo’s position about a departure this summer has forced Manchester City into changing their thinking and exploring other options for him.
The defender has absolutely refused to consider any other option than a return to Barcelona, turning down approaches from Italy, where several teams have asked about him. Other transfers around the world have been treated in the same manner.
That’s left Barcelona and Manchester City ‘condemned to understand each other’ and talks are now accelerating to resolve the transfer once and for all.
City had wanted a permanent sale this summer as Cancelo is not a part of their plans following his very public falling out with Pep Guardiola.
They offered him around and had even lowered their asking price considerably in recent weeks, something which drew interest from Italy.
Juventus had tried to get a deal done but the player is not interested in a return to the country and only wants to stay at Barcelona.
Manchester City have now accepted he is ‘blocking any possible offer’ so have gotten to work with Barcelona to work out an agreement that suits all parties.
The door to another loan has now been opened but they would ask for a mandatory purchase option to be included and then executed one June 30th, 2025.
Barcelona would prefer a non-obligatory option or at least one that is based on objectives rather than being obligatory. Their financial issues make a deal hard but Deco and Hansi Flick both want the player.
He likewise wants to return to Barcelona and Guardiola doesn’t want him as part of the squad for Manchester City’s pre-season either, meaning there is a desire from all sides for the situation to be unblocked as soon as possible.
