Arsenal's summer transfer pursuit of Joao Cancelo is certainly still alive despite claims the Portugal international does not want to continue playing in the Premier League. The Manchester City man seems to have no future at Etihad Stadium with a six-month loan spell to Bayern Munich being sanctioned in the midst of a title charge despite him having played 17 league games already in that season.
Further proof that Pep Guardiola no longer wants him at City came when it was revealed by Spanish outlet Sport, the club would sanction an exit if an interested club pays €40million (£34.6m). In comparison, Cancelo's buy option to sign for Bayern at the end of his loan spell stood at €70million (£60.3m).
City's stance and Bayern's choice not to bring in Cancelo permanently resulted in Arsenal showing an interest in signing the 29-year-old, as per the Telegraph. Given his ability to play as an inverted full-back, Cancelo is seen as the perfect defender for the Gunners, although he may not want the move to Emirates Stadium.
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On Friday, it was reported by German newspaper Abendzeitung that Cancelo is not interested in joining Arsenal and would prefer a move to a different league. Having spent half a year in Germany, the only top five league Cancelo is yet to play in is Ligue 1 and with Paris Saint-Germain looking for new defenders, he could have his sights set on the French champions.
Nonetheless, Arsenal are still making attempts to sign Cancelo and according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, could potentially have a clear advantage over any other suitors after making contact ahead of the summer window.
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Romano revealed: "For Cancelo, yes, they are interested. They had some contact, and they have very good relationship with these agents. So there was a conversation over the possibility to sign Cancelo."
After selling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners last summer, which nearly cost Man City a third consecutive title, some concern over letting another player join a close rival would be understandable. However, on the side of City, there seems to be no issues in sanctioning's Cancelo move to Arsenal if a suitable bid arrived, as per journalist Dean Jones.
“Obviously Cancelo is one of those and there is already understanding at Arsenal of what it would take to sign him from City," Jones said told Give Me Sport.
“If Arsenal are willing to pay up then City would not block the move, that’s the current feeling. It’s a stance they have held in the past and does not seem to be swayed by the fact Arsenal ran them closest in the title race this season.”
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