Man City ace set for £21m move to Saudi as talks advancing

Pep Guardiola is continuing to authorise deals that will help him streamline his Man City squad.

A relentless quest for perfection sees to it that only the most hard-working and committed players need apply to be a part of his serial title-winning team.

That’s not a description that’s readily applied to full-back, Joao Cancelo, who is often lauded for his marauding runs forward but perhaps not so much for his primary role as a footballer; defending.

The Portuguese hasn’t been part of Guardiola’s thoughts for 18 months or so now, having spent a short period on loan at Bayern Munich, before turning out for Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona last season.

Joao Cancelo set to swap Manchester for Saudi Arabia

It was thought that both he and Joao Felix would get the return that both wanted, and that was a permanent move to Barcelona.

However, the Catalan giants don’t appear to be able to afford either player, with Felix already transferring to Chelsea this season.

That leaves the way clear for other clubs to move for Cancelo and, according to Football Insider, talks are now advancing with Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.

The serial champions are managed by Cancelo’s countryman, Jorge Jesus, and given that there don’t appear to be any other offers on the table at this point in time, Jesus’ presence may well be the tipping point in Al Hilal’s favour.

With a few days left of the window to go, there’s plenty of time to get a deal signed off for the 30-year-old, and whilst heading to Saudi Arabia may not have been his first choice, if Cancelo wants to play football rather than allowing his career to stagnate, then he needs to swallow his pride and make it work.

It remains to be seen if City themselves will then go back into the market to get cover in the squad.

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