Journalist Gab Marcotti has claimed that Manchester City could use Joao Cancelo as a potential alternative to signing Lucas Paqueta.
The Manchester club have been linked with a move for the West Ham United midfielder recently and could still look to secure a deal for him before the summer transfer window closes after having a verbal offer of £70m rejected.
As for Cancelo, he’s been linked with a move to Barcelona recently after it was reported earlier in the summer that a permanent move away from the Etihad Stadium is likely to happen.
With the window set to close in less than three weeks, one journalist has suggested a possible outcome that could benefit the treble winners.
Marcotti says Cancelo could be ideal Paqueta alternative
Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Marcotti had this to say about Cancelo.
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He said: “I think he might have a different understanding with Xavi than he had with Pep.
“I still think Cancelo could help Manchester City right now, frankly, if they can mend whatever has happened, come round to it, I think it would be mutually beneficial then you wouldn’t have to go and spend all this money on [Paqueta] because, you know what, he can play central-midfield, he’s basically a number 10.”
After falling out of favour with Guardiola back in January, the full-back joined Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the previous season, which saw him miss out on winning the treble with City.
Bearing in mind how the 29-year-old wasn’t included in the squad for the Community Shield, their Premier League match against Burnley and hasn’t travelled with the rest of the players for tomorrow’s Super Cup match against Sevilla, this doesn’t suggest that he’ll be staying at the Etihad Stadium this season or that a reconciliation with Guardiola is on the horizon.
Therefore, even though it could take a significant amount of money to sign Paqueta, we feel that the best next step for all parties would be to sell Cancelo for as much as they can and then make sure they secure a deal for the Hammers star as soon as possible.