Bayern Munich is expected to be busy in the upcoming summer transfer window after enduring a disappointing 2022/23 campaign. Thomas Tuchel had ample time with the first team to decide on priority positions for the summer window. It does look like Joao Cancelo may not feature in Tuchel’s plans at Bayern for next season.
According to Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, Bayern is not looking to activate the option of €70 million to sign Joao Cancelo permanently from Manchester City. The Portuguese full-back is not expecting to stay in Bavaria for next season despite facing an uncertain future in Manchester.
Meanwhile, Daily Telegraph in the UK has also reported that Joao Cancelo is expected to return to Manchester City at the end of the season. Arsenal is interested in signing the Portuguese full-back, but Man City may look to sell him outside the Premier League.
Bayern made the surprise move for Cancelo at the end of the winter window. After struggling to get regular playing time under Pep Guardiola this season, Cancelo decided to leave Manchester City. Rekordmeister moved quickly to sign him since Julian Nagelsmann liked the player, and they have been keenly following Cancelo for several years.
Cancelo enjoyed a very good start to his loan spell at Bayern, grabbing an assist in his first competitive game for the club. However, the Portuguese full-back slowly started struggling under Nagelsmann. He saw his playing time reduced in March before Nagelsmann left Bayern at the end of the last international break.
The former Inter Milan full-back has lately started the last few games under Thomas Tuchel due to injuries to Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies. Cancelo has played in the left-back position over the last few weeks.
The 28-year-old full-back has scored one goal and provided six assists for Bayern in 19 appearances across all competitions. His performances have been decent but not worth the fee of €70 million. Unless there is a significant drop in transfer demands of Manchester City for Cancelo, Bayern will not look to sign the Portuguese full-back on a permanent deal.
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Bayern is currently focusing on investing the majority of their transfer budget in a new striker. Thomas Tuchel reportedly wants another midfielder, so forking out a big fee on a full-back doesn’t make sense. Rekordmeister is well covered in full-back positions, so it will not be surprising to see Cancelo leave at the end of the season.
