Manchester City interested in signing Chelsea star following Joao Cancelo loan move to Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Manchester City are considering swooping in for Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell to solve their recurring issues at left-back in the summer transfer window, according to the latest emerging reports.

The January transfer window ended in mayhem for the Premier League champions as Joao Cancelo sealed a surprise loan move to Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season, with a buy-out option of €70 million in the summer.

Sources close to the Etihad Stadium have reported that Cancelo fell out with Pep Guardiola over a reduced role on the pitch since his return from the Qatar World Cup.

Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte, primarily centre-halves, have been deployed on the left side of defence in addition to summer signing Sergio Gomez, with Cancelo finding game time difficult to come by over the past month.

Rico Lewis has made the right-back position his own with a series of impressive performances at right-back, often meaning the 18-year-old was preferred over England international Kyle Walker.

Disagreements behind the scenes with the head coach and continued disgruntlements after being snubbed from the starting XI recently, Cancelo and Guardiola agreed that a loan move away from City was the best possible solution for all parties.

All of the above paved the way for Bayern Munich, who were believed to be long-standing admirers of the 28-year-old, completing a loan deal for Joao Cancelo on the eve of deadline day of the mid-season transfer window.

Cancelo’s departure leaves City short of options in what has become a worrisome position for the Blues, who also sold Oleksandr Zinchenko to title rivals Arsenal last summer.

Sergio Gomez, the only remaining natural full-back currently with the first-team squad, has struggled for consistent minutes since joining from RSC Anderlecht last summer.

Nathan Ake has been key to solving City’s ongoing problems in the position but the six-time Premier League champions are expected to enter the market and bring in a new left-back at the end of the season.

The Mail report that Manchester City could reignite their interest in Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell in the summer after deciding against meeting his £42 million Leicester City release clause in 2020 before he moved to Chelsea.

City’s interest in Chilwell is backed by The Times, who have reported that Chilwell is amongst Manchester City’s shortlist of left-back options for the upcoming transfer window.

The manner in which Joao Cancelo’s abrupt January exit materialised makes it highly likely that officials at the Etihad Stadium will look to strengthen Pep Guardiola’s options at left-back in the summer.