It would appear that FC Barcelona are still not fully ready to let go of some departing players. While the Catalan club has to handle some incoming loan players, they also have to deal with some unwanted departures. Two such departures from FC Barcelona were those of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix.
While Felix’s departure may now be permanent given the interest from the likes of SL Benfica and other teams that Atletico Madrid seems to find very appealing, Barcelona had hoped that perhaps Joao Cancelo could be brought back for another season.
Unfortunately, Manchester City is unwilling to do that for Barcelona at this time. Having already sent him out on loan for one season in this previous campaign, they are no longer open to the idea.
Instead, the Citizens would only welcome a permanent sale of the 30-year-old Portuguese fullback. Furthermore, interest from Saudi Arabia was already quite damaging to any chance that La Blaugrana may have had of convincing Man City to let him leave on loan again.
That is why the entry of two new suitors will come as an even bigger blow to Barcelona now. According to Mundo Deportivo, two Serie A giants have now entered the conversation and will look to permanently take away Cancelo from the Premier League champions.
The two teams in question are Inter Milan and Juventus, two Italian sides that Cancelo has represented in the past. Having spent a season on loan at Inter back in the 2017/2018 season, and then having stayed at Juventus as a permanent signing for only one season in 2018/2019, it would appear that he now has a chance to return to a former home of his.
Moreover, it is being reported that the player’s agent Jorge Mendes was the one to go knocking on their doors. As it stands, MD also highlights that the player is willing to lower his salary to leave Manchester City at this point, regardless of whether he has to go to Barcelona or the new Italian suitors.
At the moment, a permanent transfer is exactly what is keeping Barcelona at bay. The Catalan club is still trying to find its way back to normality, and they have a limited budget to work with.
At this point in time, the only way Cancelo becomes a Barcelona player again is if Manchester City agree to another loan deal or Barça coughs up the amount that the Citizens are demanding.