Arsenal have opened talks to sign Joao Cancelo from Manchester City in the summer transfer window. The Portuguese defender returned to the Etihad Stadium following a six-month loan spell at Bayern Munich.
The 29-year-old is set to leave City this summer after he fell out with manager Pep Guardiola which prompted Cancelo to leave on loan in January. The Portugal international helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title but faces an uncertain future at City after a successful four-year spell in Manchester.
The German outfit opted not to activate their option to buy the 29-year-old defender, allowing Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona into the race to sign him. Mikel Arteta raided the Etihad Stadium last summer - signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko - and could be set to do the same again this year.
Both Jesus and Zinchenko helped raise the Gunners' performance levels drastically as they challenged City for the Premier League title. There is a concern at the Emirates Stadium that the Premier League champions may be reluctant to doing business with Arsenal this summer after seeing the positive impact Jesus and Zinchenko had in transforming the north London outfit into title challengers.
According to Sky Sports, Arsenal have now engaged in ‘early verbal talks’ to sign the Portuguese full-back. However, Cancelo's own preference has been revealed to be a move to Spain, with Real Madrid and Barcelona the leading candidates.
German news outlet Kicker, via Besoccer, have outlined that Cancelo wishes to join either of the Spanish giants in a deal which could reach up to €50million (£43million). City are said to be reluctant to sanction another loan deal for the 29-year-old, with the player's contract expiring in four years' time having agreed a two-year extension on his original six-year deal just last summer.
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Barcelona's financial situation means they will need to move on a number of players this summer as they prioritise bringing Lionel Messi back to the Nou Camp. Madrid are keen on strengthening their defensive options, but are focusing on signing a replacement for Karim Benzema - for now.
This could leave Arsenal with the ability to make a swift move to secure a deal for Cancelo. Although, midfield reinforcements are set to be a bigger priority, with a big-money move to bring Declan Rice to the club being a priority, football.london understands.
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