Having once looked set to leave Manchester City after struggling to settle at the Etihad Stadium, Joao Cancelo has emerged as one of the club's most important players and can now proudly call himself one of the best left-backs in Europe.
The 27-year-old recently penned a new deal to keep him at City until 2027, despite the fact his previous contract wasn't set to expire until 2025
Cancelo expressed his delight at having extended his deal with the Premier League champions, citing the influence of Pep Guardiola as one of the main reasons for his recent progression.
Cancelo's combination of versatility, defensive nous and technical excellence has seemingly solved Guardiola's left-back conundrum, potentially handing City the freedom to prioritise other areas of the squad when looking to bolster their ranks in the summer.
In the MEN’s latest Facebook Live, City is Ours regulars Ross Jackson and Alex Brotherton took the chance to reflect on Cancelo's contract extension and discussed what the announcement could mean for Guardiola moving forward.
Alex kickstarted the discussion by outlining how the Portugal international has single-handedly changed the left-back narrative at the Etihad.
AB: "Every summer there is a long list of left-backs who are linked with City but now that City have got these two guys [Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko] who are just as good as anyone out there, you could say that City can focus more on other areas.
"Obviously the Erling Haaland pursuit is the main thing that everyone is talking about but you could arguably say that, beyond striker and left-back, what's more important is some midfield cover.
"It does look like Fernandinho will leave at the end of the season. Obviously the club haven't said anything, there's nothing official about it but he's 36 years old. He's in the last four or five months of his contract now so it would be pretty surprising to see them keep him on.
"You could see City prioritising signing another holding midfielder to come in and act as cover and competition for Rodri."
Do you think Cancelo's contract extension could impact what business City do in the summer? Follow our City Is Ours trends writer Jake Stokes on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
