MANCHESTER City defender Joao Cancelo is in line to join German champions Bayern Munich before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
A deal for the Portugal full-back is still to be completed but the proposal is for an initial loan with a 70m euro (£61.5m) option to buy in the summer.
The 28-year-old signed for City from Juventus in 2019 and has made 98 Premier League appearances.
He has won two league titles and the EFL Cup under Pep Guardiola.
Cancelo had previously been viewed as one of the key players in Guardiola’s squad due to his ability to drift inside and act as a playmaker when City had the ball.
His performances saw him named in the PFA Premier League team of the year for the last two seasons.
However, he has only started three games since the World Cup and his last two appearances were in the defeats by Southampton and Manchester United.
The emergence of teenager Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake’s improved form has left the City manager feeling confident he has enough defensive options to cover the exit of a player who is keen to move to Bayern in order to keep playing at the highest level possible.
In December 2021, Cancelo suffered cuts to the face after attempting to fight off a gang of four intruders at his home in a “horrific robbery.”
He signed a new five-year deal with the reigning Premier League champions in February 2022, extending his contract at Etihad Stadium until 2027.
Last summer City sold defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and forward Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal, as well as Raheem Sterling to Chelsea in a £50m deal.
