In a recent tweet, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that Barcelona have agreed on personal terms with Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo this summer. It has been claimed that Barca boss Xavi is keen on recruiting the Portuguese talent in this off-season.
Joao Cancelo has agreed personal terms with Barça, he wants the move… and Xavi wants him since January as priority target. Talks now ongoing with Manchester City over deal structure 🔵🔴🇵🇹
Barça plan revealed on Sunday: use part of Dembélé budget to try again for Cancelo. pic.twitter.com/3L2q2T6nuF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 3, 2023
Cancelo’s Impressive Numbers At The Allianz Arena Last Season
Cancelo enjoyed a decent loan spell at Bayern Munich last season as he managed to produce a run of impressive displays for them on the right wing. The Portuguese full-back found the back of the net once and earned six assists in 21 matches for the Bavarian outfit in the previous campaign on all fronts.
The 29-year-old has been a valuable contributor for Bayern based on his average of 1.5 tackles, 1.0 interceptions, 1.0 clearances, 0.8 shots, 0.9 key passes and 2.3 dribbles per 90 minutes in Bundesliga. He has even been tidy when distributing possession from the right flank as evidenced by his pass success rate of 85.1% in league football (stats via whoscored).
His current contract at the Etihad Stadium will run out in the summer of 2027. Hence, Barcelona will have to pay a convincing fee if they want to get Cancelo on board in this ongoing transfer window.
Will Cancelo Be A Good Signing For Barcelona?
Cancelo is a solid tackler of the ball and can sense the danger quickly to earn the ball back for his side inside his half. He doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when needed and has got the vision to engineer a few decent chances for his teammates from the wide areas.
The Portugal international is a good dribbler with the ball as well and can strike the ball with power from long range. He is primarily a right-back but can also operate as a left-back if told to do so. A player of his quality and versatility will no doubt be a major acquisition for the current La Liga champions.
We can expect Cancelo to add more quality to Barcelona boss Xavi’s defence. He could even help the Catalan club compete for some major honours over the next few years. Thus, it makes sense for Xavi to splash some cash on bring the Portuguese sensation to the Nou Camp as he will be a great signing for them in the short term.
