Barcelona’s sporting director Deco has admitted the club are ‘already thinking’ about a permanent deal for Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo next year.
Cancelo signed for Barca on a season-long loan a few months ago, with the deal getting done a bit later than anticipated after some financial complications.
Cancelo was reported to be waiting for the green light to fly from Lisbon airport to go and finalise his move, but he was told to go home and wait while Barca got things in order.
He eventually signed, and so far Cancelo has been a mainstay in Xavi’s starting XI, starting 13 games out of a possible 14.
Deco has now said that Barca are already looking into turning his loan move permanent…
Deco suggests Barcelona are really keen to sign Joao Cancelo permanent from Manchester City
Deco was recently speaking about Barcelona’s transfer plans to RAC1.
Cancelo has enjoyed a pretty good spell so far with the Catalan giants and clearly, officials are happy with what he has been bringing to the table.
Speaking about Cancelo and Joao Felix, who is also on loan at Barca, Deco said: “We are still in November, it is early. But of course, we are already thinking about it. We see how the season is going.
“There is no doubt that we want to have them next season, because they are good for the squad. We are happy with their performance. How? We’ll see, these are discussions for later.”
These comments from Deco come after Barca’s president Joan Laporta also recently stated his desire to keep Cancelo.
Barca intentions clear, but they must stump up the cash
Cancelo has clearly made a big impression at Barcelona with Deco admitting that the club are already thinking about a permanent deal.
This is all well and good, because he does not have a future at Manchester City, but it’s all about whether the two clubs will actually be able to agree a deal.
Next summer, £250,000-a-week star Cancelo will still have three years left on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, so this puts City in a strong position for any negotiations.
Barcelona’s financial problems in recent times have been well documented, so it remains to be seen if they will be able to place a suitable offer on the table for Cancelo.
