Bayern Munich to send Joao Cancelo back to Manchester City
Bayern Munich will reportedly reject the chance to sign Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo on a permanent deal this summer.
The 28-year-old made a surprise temporary move to the perennial Bundesliga winners on the final day of the January transfer window after losing his place as a regular starter at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola has frequently used Nathan Ake at left-back since the World Cup break, while the emergence of 18-year-old academy graduate Rico Lewis also pushed Cancelo further down the pecking order.
Cancelo made a bright start to life at the Allianz Arena, providing two assists in his opening two matches for Bayern in wins over Mainz 05 and Wolfsburg.
The Portugal international also started the next three matches, but he has since been benched in Bayern’s last three fixtures, including the Champions League last-16 second-leg win against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, although he did come on to provide an assist for Serge Gnabry towards the end of the tie.
Julian Nagelsmann has preferred Josip Stanisic at right-back over Cancelo in recent weeks, while Alphonso Davies is regarded as the first-choice option at left-back.
A recent report claims that Cancelo has already grown frustrated in Germany after losing his place in Nagelsmann’s starting lineup.
According to Calciomercato, Bayern are unlikely to trigger the option to sign Cancelo on a permanent deal for €70m (£62.3m) in the summer.
Cancelo, however, has refused to rule out the prospect of returning to the Etihad ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, telling O Jogo last month: “City’s group is spectacular, it’s the best I’ve ever worked in, both as a group and personally. I created great friendships, but at the end of the season I might even return, you never know.”
Man City’s No.7, who has made over 150 appearances and won five trophies with the Citizens, is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2027.
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