Football

Manchester City ace in shock exit to Bayern Munich

Manchester City ace in shock exit to Bayern Munich

Manchester City defender, Joao Cancelo is on the verge of completing a shock loan move to German giants, Bayern Munich. The move will see the Portuguese full-back join the German side on an initial deal until the end of the season. 

According to SkySports, there will be an option to buy clause inserted into the loan agreement which means Bayern will be able to purchase Cancelo for £61.5m at the end of the season if they want to. 

The news has seemingly come out of nowhere, although Cancelo has only played a minor role since returning from the World Cup in Qatar. He will now get the opportunity to try and rescue his season by joining one of the biggest clubs in world football. 

Bayern Munich are said to have been keen on the full-back for some time but prior to the last couple of months, he had been seen as an unattainable target. During the past couple of seasons, Cancelo has been a fixture in Pep Guardiola’s team and a key reason for City’s recent success. 

Why City are sanctioning the sale

On the face of it, letting a player of Cancelo’s ability and experience seems like a foolish decision on Manchester City’s part, especially with so little time left in the transfer window to bring in a replacement. 

However, things have been bubbling behind the scenes for a couple of weeks now with Pep Guardiola calling out some of his senior players on a number of occasions. The City boss has questioned whether some of the players who have been at the club for a while still had the same desire to compete for trophies. 

As a result, Cancelo has found himself on the substitutes bench more often than not since the turn of the year. The form of Rico Lewis at right back and Nathan Ake at left back have meant that Cancelo has struggled to get a look in. 

rico lewis

The 28-year-old was given a start for the Manchester derby earlier this month but he failed to put in a good performance as City fell to a 2-1 defeat. Marcus Rashford, Cancelo’s direct opponent for the day, scored the winner. 

The decision to let Cancelo go may well be a message from Pep Guardiola to the rest of the senior players in the squad. It could also simply be evidence of the faith he has in 18-year-old Rico Lewis who has excelled since coming into the side for Cancelo. 

What are Bayern getting?

Cancelo’s poor form for club and country has done little to dissuade Bayern Munich chiefs from moving for the full-back. Over the past four-five seasons, Cancelo has proved to be one of the best full-backs in the world and Bayern boss, Julian Nagelsmann, will be hoping that his new signing can rediscover that form in Bavaria. 

In many ways, the ex-Juventus man has redefined the way that we look at fullbacks. While he is capable of overlapping his winger and putting in devilish deliveries, he is also adept at moving into midfield and providing an extra option for those on the ball in the centre of the park. 

Nagelsmann likes playing a possession-based game which will suit Cancelo’s best attributes to a tee. It will be fascinating to see how he gets on in Munich.


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