Bayern Munich was involved in the most surprising transfer of the winter window. The Bavarian club agreed a loan deal with Manchester City to sign Joao Cancelo on the penultimate day of the window. The Portuguese full-back joins on an initial loan deal with an option to buy for Die Roten in the summer.
Cancelo has been integrated straight into the starting XI, as he started against Mainz and Wolfsburg last week. The 28-year-old right-back has already shown his quality for Bayern by getting two assists in two games. He is making a difference on the pitch after quickly settling into the squad.
Bayern has been long-term admirers of Joao Cancelo, so they acted quickly once it was clear that the Portuguese wanted to leave Manchester City. The Bavarian club is covering wages of Cancelo, while there is no loan fee involved in this deal.
Rekordmeister and Nagelsmann will definitely like to sign Cancelo in the summer if he continues to shine on the pitch. However, Bayern will not straightaway activate the option to buy him for €70 million. While talking to Bild over the weekend (via iMiaSanMia), Hasan Salihamidzic insisted that the club will renegotiate the fee if the loan spell goes well for Cancelo. Bayern’s sporting director insisted that a lower fee can be agreed if all parties want a solution.
"“We’re playing with open cards. The most important thing is that João feels comfortable in Munich and can perform in the second half of the season.”“However, we also made it clear to him that this fee is difficult for us to imagine in the next few years. But I also learned that if all sides absolutely want a solution, we can manage it in the end. He knows he’s been one of our dream signings for years.”"
It doesn’t make sense for Bayern to fork out €70 million on a full-back next summer. Moreover, Cancelo will be 29 next season, so it will be a hefty investment for a player that will not be at the club for the next four to five seasons.
Moreover, reports in England have suggested that Cancelo’s relationship with Guardiola has been strained. It will take an incredible turn of events for the Portuguese full-back to be integrated back into the squad. Die Roten can use this as leverage to negotiate a lower fee with Manchester City.
Die Roten will face competition from other top clubs in the summer since Cancelo has been one of the finest full-backs in Europe during the last three seasons. As long as the Portuguese full-back is happy in Munich, Rekordmeister will lead the race to sign him. In an ideal scenario, Bayern ends up signing him for a fee of €40-45 million after a terrific second half of the current season.
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Bayern is likely to be in the market for a right-back since Benjamin Pavard is expected to leave Bavaria in the summer. Joao Cancelo is a very good candidate for this role, so Die Roten is expected to work hard on completing a permanent transfer. The Bavarian club will make a decision on Cancelo before the end of the season. For now, the Portuguese full-back will look to go on a good run of form until the end of the campaign.