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Man City strike a shock deal to send Joao Cancelo on loan to Bayern Munich with a £61.5m buy option, and the two-time PFA Team of the Year right-back is allowed to leave after he Pep Guardiola will leave him.
Manchester City have agreed to send Joao Cancelo on loan to Bayern Munich in a shock move late in the window, with the deal including an option to buy the player for £61.5m.
The Portuguese international has fallen out of favor within Pep Guardiola’s team and has not started any of his last three games.
Bayern have long been fans of the full-back and see him as a potential answer to their faltering domestic form throughout this campaign.
Joao Cancelo is reportedly set to complete a surprising late loan move to Bayern Munich.
Cancelo was named in the last two PFA Premier League Teams of the Year, making 36 appearances last season as City comfortably clinched the title.
However, the dynamic full-back, who can play on the right or left side of defence, as well as in midfield, has fallen down the pecking order under Guardiola, with Nathan Ake, John Stones, Kyle Walker and now the graduating Rico Lewis academy all. preferred over Cancelo.
Cancelo’s continued omission from the starting XI has drawn attention since the World Cup, especially after the fact that Guardiola hinted that bad body language was the reason certain players were left on the bench.
“Whenever it’s difficult to choose the team for me, always the best players don’t play,” Guardiola said earlier this month. “Lately, as I get older, I mostly look at body language. In training and everything. You can’t play well when your body language isn’t right.
The Portuguese international has fallen out of favor with Pep Guardiola (right) this season
Guardiola has preferred youth squad player Rico Lewis to Cancelo in recent weeks
‘Sometimes you choose players because of how happy they are. That’s one of the biggest decisions when picking the lineup, because with the abilities, I know how good they are. The body language depends on them and sometimes they are not good and it is more difficult.’
Cancelo is currently under contract at the Etihad until 2027 and will join a Bayern side who have drawn their last three games, allowing Union Berlin to cut the gap with them at the top to just one point.
If a move goes through, Cancelo could play Mainz in the German Cup on Wednesday, while Julian Nagelsmann could be ready to launch him against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.