Man City star Joao Cancelo ‘set for Bayern Munich loan’ after cryptic social media posts | Football | Sport
Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo is poised to sign for Bayern Munich on loan before the January transfer deadline. The Portuguese has fallen out of favour in recent weeks but it is reportedly ‘unclear’ why Pep Guardiola has sanctioned his exit at this late stage of the window.
Cancelo has failed to start any of Man City’s last three games in all competitions, with Nathan Ake generally preferred on the left and academy product Rico Lewis emerging as a first-team contender on the right.
The 28-year-old is still a prominent member of Guardiola’s squad, having been named in the PFA Team of the Year in each of the last two seasons. Cancelo has notched three goal contributions in 17 Premier League games so far this term, making his proposed move to Bayern all the more mysterious.
According to The Athletic, Cancelo is set to head to Bavaria, where he has long-term admirers who have a buy option as part of the prospective January deal.
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Earlier this month, Guardiola confirmed that City wouldn’t look to make any signings, despite sitting five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race having played one game more. The Sky Blues supposedly feel as though they have enough cover to cope with Cancelo’s departure for the remainder of the season.
Cancelo has played more than 150 matches for City, scoring 10 goals, but his form dropped off this campaign and he lost his Portugal spot to Diogo Dalot at the World Cup in Qatar. The 28-year-old may have felt as though his days were numbered at the Etihad when Guardiola spoke glowingly about Ake and Lewis in recent press conferences.
“Nathan, against [Dejan] Kulusevski – what a player,” he said after a comeback win over Tottenham. “[Against Mo] Salah in the Carabao Cup. 10 duels and he won nine. It’s not in the highlights but without Nathan right now we cannot play good.
“Rico Lewis. 18 years old. Why play him over him or him? Look at the Carabao Cup game against Chelsea; Carabao Cup against Liverpool; in Leeds, the team most aggressive in the Premier League, they don’t give you two seconds in small spaces; Chelsea second half, he arrived and after one minute he changed the game.
“Why? Because he wants to live in the world, have a better contract and win Premier Leagues he has never won. That is what everyone needs to come back with because we need everyone.”
