Al Hilal is on the verge of finalizing the acquisition of João Cancelo from Manchester City, as reported by a reliable source. The Portuguese international is poised to make his move to the Saudi Pro League in a transfer deal valued at an initial £21 million ($28m).
Cancelo, aged 30, has not featured for City in over a year and a half, spending loan spells at both Bayern Munich and Barcelona during his absence. Despite returning to Manchester for training this summer, he was notably left out of the squad for the first two Premier League matches against Chelsea and Ipswich Town.
During his time with City, Cancelo made a significant impact, playing in more than 150 matches and contributing to the club’s success in capturing the Premier League title three times. Additionally, he earned recognition by being named in the PFA Premier League team of the year in both 2021 and 2022.
Most recently, Cancelo’s last appearance for City was in January 2023 before embarking on a surprising loan move to Bayern Munich. However, the German club opted against making the arrangement permanent, leading to another loan switch to Barcelona for the 2023-24 season. Although Barcelona expressed interest in retaining Cancelo, their financial limitations paved the way for Al Hilal to make significant progress in securing his services.
Al Hilal turned their attention to Cancelo after discovering that Kyle Walker was not an option for them. Additionally, the club had considered pursuing Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong but ultimately shifted their focus to Cancelo, given his experience at clubs like Benfica, Valencia, and Juventus.
Despite Cancelo’s imminent departure, sources reveal that Manchester City is contemplating the addition of another attacking player to their roster before the upcoming transfer deadline. While Pep Guardiola is content with the return of midfielder Ilkay Gündogan from Barcelona, the club is actively assessing various strikers following the departure of Julián Álvarez to Atlético Madrid.