Italian club emerges as leading candidate to sign Joao Cancelo should key transfer decision be made | OneFootball

One club is leading the race to recruit Joao Cancelo in Italy from Manchester City this summer, should the Portugal international show an intention to return to the country.

The 30-year-old continues to face an uncertain future as the large share of Manchester City’s first-team players hurtle towards a return to training at the City Football Academy in early August ahead of the FA Community Shield.

FC Barcelona are understood to be the preferred destination of Joao Cancelo, having spent the last competitive campaign on loan at the La Liga giants. However, financial struggles at the Catalan side may prevent the financing of a permanent agreement.

As such, Manchester City and the player’s agent Jorge Mendes are having to scour the market for alternative opportunities, or succumb to a more creative agreement around an initial loan with an obligation to buy further down the line.

But on the table is also a return to Italian football for Joao Cancelo and his young family, and should the player believe that it may be the best solution at this stage of his career, then one club are reportedly ahead of the rest in the race for his signature.

According to the information of Italian newspaper Calciomercato, as translated and relayed by Juvefc, Turin club Juventus are currently ahead of Inter Milan, should Joao Cancelo agree to a return to Italy this summer upon leaving Manchester City – who remain intent on a sale.

At present, it remains to be seen what Juventus could offer Manchester City for Joao Cancelo, having already been busy in the ongoing summer transfer market, most notably through the big-money signing of Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa.

It is widely believed that Manchester City are willing to come down significantly from their €70 million asking price for Joao Cancelo last summer, with some reports pointing towards a fee as low as €30 million for the player this time around.

In a significant boost to City’s recruitment team, Pep Guardiola is unlikely to be seeking a direct replacement for Joao Cancelo this summer, with a firm belief in the talents of Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis, alongside support at right-back from John Stones and Manuel Akanji.