Manchester City fullback attracking interest after falling out of favor
By Ivan Buss
Joao Cancelo has begun to attract interest after suddenly falling out of favor at Manchester City.
It’s truly amazing what a few months have done to Joao Cancelo. After Manchester City won the Premier League title in fairytale fashion last season, Cancelo was coming off his best season, all while playing out of position. Fast forward 8 months and Cancelo has suddenly fallen out of favor at the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola preferring young Rico Lewis in his position in recent weeks.
Since the World Cup, Joao Canelo has started just once and was taken off at halftime against Chelsea in Manchester City’s 4-0 win in the FA Cup. While there has been no report of discontent from the player’s camp, one could suspect there will be if the 28-year-old continues to ride the bench behind Rico Lewis.
Quite frankly, Joao Cancelo was well off the pace in the EFL Cup, where Manchester City was stunned 2-0 and got eliminated from the competition they have dominated in recent years. It has been very clear though that so far, this season Cancelo has not reached the same heights as last year.
Last season, Cancelo was included in the Premier League team of the season, with outstanding performances and some numbers to back up his addition to the team. One goal alongside 7 assists and any number of incredible performances allowed City to play the way they envision en route to the Premier League title, once again snatching it just ahead of Liverpool.
This season, he has doubled his goal tally already, but only has 1 assist and has played witness to the meteoric rise of Rico Lewis, a right back that has come through the ranks in the City Football youth setup. Lewis became the youngest ever player to score in their first Champions League start at just 17 years and 346 days of age against Sevilla. Since then, Lewis has seen more game time and even more praise.
Cancelo, who currently is under contract with Manchester City until 2027 surely represents a pricey option for whoever decides to pursue the Portuguese international. Clubs from Italy, Germany, Spain, and likely more are all keeping tabs on this ongoing situation.
Now, Joao Cancelo faces a bit of a crossroads. Sure, this could just be a way to motivate Cancelo by head coach Pep Guardiola, but this could also be the future happening right before our eyes at Manchester City.
The question remains; is this just a blip in the road for a player who has stated he wants to stay at Manchester City, or could this truly be the beginning of the end of Joao Cancelo’s time in Manchester? Personally, I hope it’s just a rough patch that Cancelo works through and this is all one big overreaction from the media.
What do you think?