According to reports, Manchester City is already preparing for life without full-back Joao Cancelo and may pursue a big name from a rival Premier League team.
Cancelo joined City in August 2019 from Juventus. According to Sky Sports, City paid Juve £26 million for the Portuguese and sent Danilo to Italy as part of the deal.
Cancelo, who played a hybrid role between full-back and winger for Pep Guardiola, was a revelation. In 2020-21, he was named to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the first time as City won the title by 14 points.
Last season, the 28-year-old was named to the PFA Team of the Year for the second time. He had one goal and seven assists in 36 league games as City won the English title by one point over Liverpool.
Cancelo has had a strong start to the current season. He was unable to replicate this form after returning from the Qatar World Cup.
He subsequently lost his starting spot, fueling speculation about a rift with Guardiola.
Cancelo made headlines on January 30 when it was revealed that he was on the verge of joining Bayern Munich. And that transfer was completed on the deadline day.
The player has joined Bayern on loan for the time being, with the German giants having the option to make the move permanent in the summer for €70 million (£61.5 million).
Man City needs a left-back solution
Cancelo is unlikely to return to the Etihad at the end of the season. He wants guarantees he will be playing in pretty much every big match – something Guardiola is unwilling to provide.
As such, Guardiola and City are now looking for potential replacements on the left side of the defense. And The Times brings up the possibility of them raiding Prem rivals Chelsea for Ben Chilwell.
After signing as many as eight stars in January, Chelsea looks set to offload a plethora of players this summer to make space in the squad and bring some money back in. And Chilwell could be one of the players who depart.
The report claims Guardiola wanted Chilwell before his move from Leicester to Chelsea in August 2020 and is now back on the hunt for the England international.
It is said he would be ‘pleased’ about bringing Chilwell in as Cancels’s replacement.
While the 26-year-old appears happy at Stamford Bridge, this could change in the future. He is currently battling a hamstring injury but if he cannot get into the team ahead of Marc Cucurella on his return, then a move to City could become enticing.
Guardiola wants three new players
The city has been shocked by Arsenal’s emergence as the league leader. Due to this, they are looking at strengthening several positions in the summer. A left-back will be their priority, given Cancels’s exit, but a new central midfielder and winger will also be targeted.
Chelsea would have to be persuaded to let Chilwell leave for another English club. After all, Chelsea wants to reclaim the title and will not want to improve City’s position.
However, the Citizens have previously demonstrated that they are willing to spend large sums of money to support Guardiola and give him the best chance of winning a trophy. As a result, it would not be surprising if a large-money bid for Chilwell were launched later this year. Then it’ll be up to Chelsea to accept or tell them to look elsewhere.
Meanwhile, one observer has slammed Chelsea’s approach to January transfers.
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