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Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo set for Bayern Munich loan deal

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Joao Cancelo of Manchester City  during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion at Etihad Stadium on October 22, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
By David Ornstein and Pol Ballus
Jan 30, 2023

Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo is set to join Bayern Munich on loan.

Cancelo’s loan deal includes a buy option of €70million (£61.6m, $76.3m), with the German champions long-term admirers of the 28-year-old. He has now arrived in Munich to have a medical and sign his contract.

He has fallen out of the first team under Pep Guardiola, failing to start any of their last three games in all competitions.

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Cancelo, who was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in each of the last two seasons, played 36 games last campaign as City won the title.

Academy graduate Rico Lewis, as well as Nathan Ake, John Stones and Kyle Walker, have all been preferred in the full-back slots in recent weeks, but it is unclear why City are now set to sanction a loan move for the Portugal international to Bayern.

Cancelo, who is under contract at City until 2027, will join a Bayern side who are in stuttering form and have drawn their last three games. While they are top of the Bundesliga, Julian Nagelsmann’s side have allowed four teams — Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg — to move within three points with them at the top of the table.

If Cancelo moves to Bayern before the deadline on Tuesday, he could feature in the German Cup against Mainz on Wednesday, or play in the Bundesliga against Wolfsburg on Sunday.

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(Photo: Getty Images)

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