Following the sale of Franck Kessie to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli, as well as Ousmane Dembele’s impending departure to Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona will have funds available to re-invest in the transfer market.
Signing a new right-back is top of their agenda, and they have been linked with several targets, the most concrete being Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, who was left out of Pep Guardiola’s squad for their Premier League opener on Friday night.
Xavi Hernandez has identified Cancelo as his preferred option, and Fabrizio Romano has now reported that Barcelona have re-opened talks with both Man City and the Portuguese international’s representatives over a possible deal.
Understand Barcelona have reactivated contacts for João Cancelo deal — with both Manchester City and his camp 🇵🇹
Xavi considers Cancelo priority target and negotiations will continue in the next days.
Barça and Cancelo, deal ON. 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/ATwTtsHZhB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 11, 2023
Man City will likely allow Cancelo to leave this summer as he is not in Guardiola’s plans going forward, which should give Barcelona a strong chance of getting their man. However, the finances of the deal will also be crucial, as the Blaugrana won’t have mountains of cash at their disposal.
It remains to be seen who Barcelona sign as their new right-back. Cancelo certainly appears to be best-placed at this stage, which is good news for Xavi.
