Manchester City separated by €20 million in valuation over summer transfer – Player ‘more expensive than expected’

Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly separated by €20 million in their valuations of Portugal international full-back Joao Cancelo.

The 29-year-old is largely out-of-favour at the Etihad Stadium following a breakdown in relations between himself and coaching staff midway through Manchester City’s treble-winning season.

That breakdown led to a last minute move to Bayern Munich on a six-month agreement during last season’s January transfer window, before returning to City for pre-season ahead of the ongoing campaign.

Despite featuring in some of City’s matches in the far-east during their warm-up period last summer, Cancelo was sent on another loan but this time to FC Barcelona on a 12-month deal, with the Catalan club now keen to retain him on a permanent basis on the right terms.

However, according to the information of Spanish newspaper Sport, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, the assessments made by Barcelona and Manchester City ‘differ greatly’ in relation to the valuation of Joao Cancelo.

The report claims that Etihad Stadium officials value Cancelo at €40 million, while La Liga giants Barcelona do not want to pay any more than €20 million to turn their ongoing loan agreement into a permanent transfer this summer.

As such, Sport state that ‘things are going to drag on’ and could become more complex for Barcelona if another club were to enter the race for Cancelo, at which point the defender himself ‘will decide’.

Despite the potential for additional interest in Joao Cancelo from across European football, there is currently no indication of specifics when it comes to other suitors, giving Barcelona a clear run at the player at present.

As for Manchester City and their future in the right-back role, and while there is the potential for Kyle Walker to remain at the club into another campaign, Etihad Stadium officials are understood to be assessing options for a long-term replacement for the England veteran.

Yan Couto is one of the club’s brightest talents, and having earned himself his first senior Brazil cap following exemplary performances on loan at Girona, he is high up on the club’s radar with the expectation being that he will return to the club this summer for pre-season.