Man City identify Chelsea star as Joao Cancelo replacement

Stuart Telford

• 2 Feb 2023 17:38 GMT
• 3 min read

Joao Cancelo has left Manchester City for Bayern Munich on loan, and the club are ready to go back in for a player Chelsea beat them to as his replacement…

Cancelo left on loan for Bayern with an option to make the deal permanent for €70 million next summer after the Portuguese had a training ground bust-up with Pep Guardiola over his reduced playing time.

Able to play on either flank, Cancelo has had to watch on as Nathan Ake has emerged as City's first-choice left-back, with Rico Lewis breaking through to offer competition for Kyle Walker on the other side.

READ: Official: Bayern Munich sign Cancelo on loan

Ake is a centre-back by trade, though, and with Oleksandr Zinchenko sold to Arsenal last summer, youngster Sergio Gomez is the next in line at left-back. City could now go back in for Ben Chilwell for more experience in the position.

City 'could return for Chilwell'

"City are now seeking a replacement, and losing a key squad member as the window closes is not ideal, but club insiders have disclosed they were left with little option," report the Daily Mail. "But the Premier League champions are perennially searching for a traditional left back.

"City opted against triggering Ben Chilwell's £42m release clause when he left Leicester for Chelsea in 2020 but could return for him after refusing to meet Brighton's valuation of Marc Cucurella last summer."

READ: Chelsea's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Cucurella became the most expensive left-back of all time when he joined Chelsea in a deal worth £62 million last August, but his presence in the Blues squad could cramp Chilwell's style.

Chilwell has also missed 10 games with a torn hamstring this season, and his injury issues could be a cause for concern for City, but on his day the England international is arguably the best left-back in the country.

Benjamin Mendy's contract with City is set to expire this summer, meanwhile, and he remains suspended by the club with his retrial for sexual violence set to be heard on 26 June.